Weather: towards a temperature record in Toulouse
29 degrees Celsius in the middle of May. This week, Toulouse is preparing for a new heat wave. And this rise in temperatures could become a record.
It’s summer before its time. In Toulouse, for lunch, the restaurants take out their terraces. At the end of the afternoon, the parks are crowded. At sunset, the quays are taken by storm. It is only May, and yet the summer temperatures are already there. In the city center, towards the banks of the Garonne, the return of temperatures above 20 degrees is very appreciated. But if the city dwellers take advantage of the beautiful days, the meteorological experts are alarmed.
Consultant and former forecaster at Météo-France, Pascal Bourreau is a little more skeptical about this sudden rise in mercury: “The weather expected for this season is not requested. We will have a hot and very dry climate. And there will be many regions in critical condition.” During the next 12 days, an anticyclone will settle on the hexagon.
Read also :
Haute-Garonne: “These high temperatures should not last too long”, warns farmers
Above seasonal norms
This phenomenon, plus the arrival of a hot wind from Africa, will increase the temperature of the Pink City. Heat peaks at 29 degrees are to be expected during the week according to the latest news from Météo-France. Today and Wednesday are expected to be the hottest days. “We will not be very far from the record of 33 degrees recorded on May 30, 2001. The problem is that it is rare to observe long periods of high heat in this month. Often, it is rather an episode of 3 to 4 days”, confirms Pascal Bourreau.
generally, in the middle of May, the average temperature is around 21 degrees. Forecaster at the South-West service of Météo-France, Jean-Michel Vayssettes talks about a meteorological phenomenon which is arriving earlier than expected. “This anticyclone and this hot wind from Africa, we normally observe it in June or July”, analyzes the expert.
Read also :
“With the little precipitation that has recently fallen, the situation can quickly occur”, according to Guillaume Choisy, director of the Adour-Garonne basin agency.
An ecological risk
This year, with such high temperatures over time, there are real ecological risks. Remember, the month of May is essential for groundwater. Spring precipitation, just before summer, fills the water reserves. “In the region, it is normally one of the rainiest months of the year, warns Pascal Bourreau. There are averages of 75 L/m² over 31 days. For these first days of May, we are at 2 L/m². And no rain is expected for the next 10 days. This period can bring us to critical reserve levels,” continues former forecaster Pascal Bourreau.
Immediately, in the year, the risk of soil drying out is conceivable. There could be a real impact on local agriculture and flora (see opposite). Without any precipitation and with such temperatures, a pollution peak is also to be feared. “Be careful, it is also likely that we will find rainy days at the end of the month. It is possible that there will be showers. It is still too early to talk about drought,” reassures Jean-Michel Vayssettes.