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The day was sunny and mild across almost all of France, and particularly in the South-West, where the mercury exceeded 25 degrees on Wednesday November 5. How to explain this phenomenon?
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On the main beach, the temperatures are incredibly mild: more than 24 degrees on Wednesday November 5 in Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). A student has a hard time believing it. “It’s still quite special. Today, I got up, it was 24 degrees. I found it quite exceptional. And especially for me who comes from Grenoble (Isère)”she confides.
Warmth and good waves popular with surfers. Tourists enjoy the show in t-shirts and the youngest dare to put their feet in the water. The others, although accustomed to it, prefer to remain quietly on the edge. “We had planned, I think for the most part, to all go swimming. But there is a big coefficient of 104 and the lifeguards really said not to go”shares Philippe Bezdikian, experienced swimmer.
With 18 degrees in the water and almost 25 degrees in the air, that’s 5 to 7 degrees above seasonal norms. “The reason is simple: we are under the influence of a southerly flow which brings up a remarkably mild air mass. At 1,500 meters, we are between 15 and 18 degrees. This is what we generally have in summer”explains Ludovic Lagrange, meteorologist at Weather Solutions.
The phenomenon affected all of France. It was 18 degrees in Lille (North). This is 6 degrees warmer than normal. 19.7 degrees in Angers (Maine-et-Loire). And up to 21.5 degrees in Épinal (Vosges). This is even 10 degrees above seasonal norms. In Biarritz, on the terrace, a waiter wonders: “I admit that it scares me a little that it’s so hot like this. It’s not too normal. Especially since we’ve just returned to November.” Tuesday, November 5 in the evening, the weather deteriorated with the arrival of a storm and gusty winds.
