France's 2026 summer, 3.6 degrees above normal, is its hottest since 1900
France's environment ministry said the country's summer of 2026 averaged 24 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees above normal and hotter than the 2003 record, when temperatures ran 2.7 degrees above normal. Météo-France counted 53 heat-wave days across the season, and burned forest area reached six times the 20-year average. The season also brought a nearly 40 per cent rainfall deficit, the second-driest summer on record, and wildfires that forced about 250,000 residents to evacuate near Bordeaux.
Science··Midday
Summer 2026 beats 2003's heat record by a wide margin
Environment Minister Monique Barbut said France had lived through the hottest summer since measurements began in 1900. Météo-France recorded a season-long average of 24 degrees Celsius, day and night combined, 3.6 degrees above the seasonal normal and above the previous record set in 2003, when temperatures ran 2.7 degrees above normal. Météo-France separately counted 53 heat-wave days across the season; the late-June heat wave set a new intensity record for the country, and a 23-day spell running from late July into August matched the longest on record, set in 1983.[1], [2]
Wildfires burn six times the normal area as neighbours also swelter
By the end of August, the burned forest area had reached six times the average of the past 20 years. Firefighters battled blazes even in normally cooler, wetter regions such as Brittany, and a historic fire near Bordeaux forced about 250,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Belgium and Britain also recorded their hottest summers over the same months, and Barbut framed the season as a question of whether 2026 becomes the first in a run of record-breaking summers or the moment France's response changes.[1], [2]
Europe warms twice as fast as the global average, EU data show
Copernicus, the EU's climate monitoring service, says Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating at roughly twice the global average rate since the 1980s. Météo-France said the season also brought a nearly 40 per cent rainfall deficit, the second-driest summer on record, as France experienced one of its driest years overall. Millions of people across France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom experienced extreme temperatures over the same months.[2]
