Almost 30 degrees Celsius in the south-west of France, a heat record for the month of February

Temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius and close to 30 degrees Celsius were recorded on Tuesday in the south-west of France, during which several heat records for the month of February were broken, the mild weather “being worthy of a month of May”, announced Météo France, according to the AFP and Agerpres agencies.

“In Orthez, in the Atlantic Pyrenees (southwest), the mercury reached a provisional value of 28.3 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded in February” in this weather station inaugurated in 1994, according to the meteorological institute.

The previous record recorded in Orthez for the second month of the year was, in February 2020, 27.1 degrees Celsius.

“In the southwest, the mild weather brings to mind the warmth of spring, with temperatures worthy of May,” said Météo France.

“Temperatures, already high for this period, will rise even more from Tuesday to Wednesday, in some places reaching remarkable levels for the end of February”, added the weather agency, which noted that the “heat threshold” of 25 degrees Celsius was exceeded at several weather stations.

Also in the south-west of the country, a provisional value of 27 degrees Celsius was recorded in Biarritz, 14 degrees above normal, as well as 26 degrees Celsius in Pau, 25 degrees Celsius in Mont-de-Marsan and 22 degrees Celsius in Toulouse.

Recording such temperatures during the winter is becoming an increasingly frequent phenomenon in the context of climate change. The increase in temperatures determined by greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities is much faster in France than the world average, according to Météo France.