INTERVIEW
Will there be a before and after 2019 in terms of heat records? "Yes," says François Jobard, forecaster for Météo-France. While the second heat wave of the summer ended Friday, some regions seeing their temperatures drop sharply, the meteorologist connects to that already occurred in June.
"In the West, we lost 15 to 20 ° C in 24 hours!"
"We had an avalanche of absolute records that were beaten, sometimes by several degrees, which gives the event a truly exceptional dimension, unprecedented ... The superlatives are missing," begins the forecaster, not surprised by the impressive gaps temperatures that follow the heat wave episode.
"This difference is explained by the arrival of an ocean air mass and therefore fresher with temperatures more in line with normal season, closer to 20 ° C", he details on Europe 1. " To pass temperatures close to 40 to 20, it makes drops in 24 hours which approach the 20 ° C .... In the West one lost 15 at 20 ° C in 24 hours!
"It's consistent with global warming"
Overall, the summer 2019 is already announced as historic. "Many records were broken both in June, more in the southern regions, especially the Mediterranean regions, and this time in the north of the country," said Francois Jobard. "It challenges us as meteorologists, to beat in the same summer several series of absolute records. (...) It is consistent with global warming."
Should we then expect more heat waves this summer? "It's impossible to know," according to the forecaster. "For the first week of August, it is excluded, after it is not impossible to have a new heat wave, just as it would be possible to have a good part of August with a relatively longer time cool, cloudier and wetter ... Everything is possible in weather. "