June 2023 was one of France's hottest and stormiest on record

June 2023 was one of the hottest, sunniest - and stormiest - on record in France, with forecasters predicting more hot and unsettled weather across the rest of the summer.

In fact, June 2023 has been something of a weather paradox, the experts have said. It’s expected temperatures will be, on average, 2.5C higher than seasonal norms, but without any heatwaves.

Only June 2003 - the start of a deadly summer in which 15,000 excess deaths linked to heat were recorded - has been, on average, warmer than 2023, national forecaster Météo France said as it released its collated figures for the month.

The heat was particularly marked over a large part of the northern half of the country, while thunderstorms followed one another in the south. 

“Temperatures, both minimum and maximum, remained very mild across France throughout the month, although the country did not experience a real heatwave,” Météo France said. “For France as a whole and for the month as a whole, the average temperature, at over 21C, is expected to be more than 2.5C above normal.”

The amount of sunshine has also broken records for the period 1991-2023 - with Brittany, Pays-de-la-Loire and northern and northeastern areas seeing up to 50 percent more sun than normal.

Sunshine levels were around normal in the southern half of the country, and even lower than average in the south of Nouvelle Aquitaine, across to to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and Corsica.

The past month was also remarkable for its thunderstorm activity.

"June 2023 is already the second most lightning-struck June over the 1997-2023 period, behind June 2022, with twice as many lightning strikes as the average up to June 28,” Météo France said.

Rainfall levels, meanwhile, are “close to normal” across the country, the forecaster said - though “this conceals a highly contrasting situation from one region to another”.

Rainfall totals were well below normal in Hauts-de-France, Brittany and Alsace - where sunshine was well above average, while beating seasonal norms further south.

Globally average temperatures in early June were the hottest ever recorded for this period by the European Copernicus service. Figures for the second half of the month have yet to be published.

The most likely scenario is for warmer-than-normal conditions across France in July, August and September, and wetter-than-normal conditions in the south, from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean basin, Météo France predicted in its longer-term forecast. 

It added, however, that “wetter than normal” in the Mediterranean arc does not necessarily equate to large amounts of rain because the area is habitually very dry in the summer.

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