Drought in France: the situation has improved in several regions except this one

After knowing his hottest and driest month of May since the start of the surveys weather report, France benefited from improved rainfall at the beginning of June. Under the violent thunderstorms on Sunday June 5, the accumulations of precipitation were substantial: up to 74 mm was recorded at Saint-Yan in Saône-et-Loire, the equivalent of a month of rain in a few hours, and very often more than 50 mm locally in Haute-Vienne, in Allier and in Nièvre. In the South, some departments such as Aveyron also benefited from beneficial rains, like Rodez which recorded 49 mm. New intense rains then affected half of the country on Wednesday June 8, in particular the Pays de la Loire, Essonne, Seine-et-Marne and Berry, with an average of 5 to 25 mm of rain.

A rainy improvement in early June over more than half of the country

At the end of May, Météo France specified that the extremely low humidity of the soil reached levels that are only observed once every 25 years on average. The first five months of the year were very loss-making in matter of precipitation in France: -41% in January, -38% in February, -38% in March, -25% in April -63% in May. This spring 2022 ranks 3^e rank of the hottest and driest, with an average deficit of -45% over the whole season. A dry trend that did not wait for the year 2022 to begin, since according to Meteo Francea sharp drop in precipitation has been observed since September, with the exception of December.

But within just a few days, the drought has clearly regressed in the west and north of the country. However, the area most affected, the Mediterranean rim (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, eastern part of Occitania and Corsica) has still not received any water, or very little. The city of Marseille, in a state of extreme drought, received only 48 mm of water in the first six months of the year, a deficit of 74%! This Friday, June 10, 35 departments are under restriction, including five in a state of “crisis” resulting in a halt to non-priority direct debits, including agricultural direct debits: part of Bouches-du-Rhône, Vendée, Vienne, Eure-et-Loir, and from Loiret. Regarding the dryness of groundwaterthe situation remains worrying in Provence, south of Drôme, on the Côte d’Azur, in Vendée, in Maine and in Touraine, according to the BRGM.

Generalized further worsening of the drought in the coming days

However, summer has yet to officially kick off and further hot weather is forecast for next week, with temperatures above 30°C across much of the country by midweek. The drought situation will undergo a new rebound, with a worrying worsening around the Mediterranean, and a reversal of the situation in the west and north as well: the peak of heat next week should again tip three quarters of the country into an alarming state of drought.

In the latest update of its three-month climate forecastMétéo France is once again expecting a hotter and drier than normal summer in the south.

The drought spreads and intensifies in France

Article of Karine Durandpublished on May 10, 2022

The drought continues to worsen in France with more than 50 drought decrees in progress. This situation of lasting weather blockage follows four consecutive months of rain deficit in the country.

The first four months of the year had a deficit in terms of precipitation in France: -41% in January, -38% in February, -38% in March and -25% in April. According Meteo France, the average cumulative rainfall over the whole country is the lowest in 11 years. This accumulation corresponds to what was found at the same time for major historic droughts of 1976, 1993, 1997 and 2011. After a month of December 2021 marked by excess precipitation, the drought of January and February did not yet appear to be significant, but the situation worsened in March and April, when spring rains are believed to play a beneficial role.

This Friday, May 20, 55 departments are affected by drought orders, with water use restrictions. The Ministry of Ecology has published its drought forecast map for the next 3 months, all of France is affected by the risk:

The PACA region had never experienced such a lack of rain

In Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA), the most affected region, the rainfall deficit is 38% in April according to Météo France, and it rises to 58% over the first four months of the year. As regards the period from the beginning of January to the end of April, this is the highest deficit value recorded since 1958, that is to say since the beginning of the records. The fault of anticyclonic blocking situations and repetitive southerly flows (particularly responsible for the clouds of sand over France).

After the South-East, the Grand Est region and the north of New Aquitaine are also strongly impacted by the drought: however, in these two areas, the situation has improved slightly thanks to the April rains. The rain deficit is also significant over a large northern part of the country. In Paris-Montsouris, no significant rain has been collected (at least one millimeter in 24 hours) since April 15. The posts of Dieppe, Beauvais, Abbeville, Amiens, Charleville-Mézières, Reims and Troyes also did not receive significant rain during the last 15 days of April 2022. On the northern half of the country, the wind from northeast played an important role: it is the driest of the winds and it largely dominated during the month of April.

The lack of precipitation does not only cause a superficial soil dryness, but also impacts groundwater. Their level is low in the PACA region, Grand Est, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Poitou-Charentes according to the BRGM.

Seasonal trends predict worsening drought

Soil drought will continue to worsen. ” The month of May is always associated with a drop in soil humidity, this is normal, but the drought is much stronger and premature than normal. It corresponds to a situation in June, or even July depending on the region, according to Francois Jobard of Meteo France. Soils act as a reservoir of water, and currently the reservoir is draining far too quickly. »

The seasonal trends from Météo France, a global outlook for the next three months, again forecast drier than average weather in the south. In May, June and July, the southern half should again be under the regular influence of the anticyclone with dry and calm weather. In the north, on the other hand, no weather trend does not emerge as a priority for the coming months.