On August 8, Toulouse experienced the hottest day in its history… and it wasn’t in 2003
By Quentin Marais
Published on
In Toulouse, as in all of France, summer 2022 is very hot. In many weather stations in France, the absolute record for maximum temperature remains despite everything 19 years old. The heat wave of 2003 was historic by its intensity, its duration, and especially the values acquired during its passage. But in Toulouse, to reach the historical value, 2022 and 2003 are discarded. We have to go up (much) longer.
44°C, August 8, 1923
80 years exactly before the worst heat wave of the 21st century, the Pink City had gone through several heat episodes. The summer of 1976 was also very hot, but we still have to rewind to find the absolute record for maximum temperature in the fourth largest city in France. In effect, August 8, 1923where the Toulouse Francazal station, the oldest in the city, opened in June 1922, recorded 44 degrees. In a century, the thermometer has never displayed data greater than this.
The observation book is formal
The age of the record and the difference in equipment between 1923 and the present day have been grounds for debate. “At one time, we had somewhat questioned this value. There weren’t many measurements, but a few stations like Bordeaux and Montpellier also had exceeded 40°C“, underlines Pascal Boureau, former forecaster for Météo France in Toulouse. Who tells :
“I leafed through the observation notebook written by my colleagues at the time, with very beautiful pen writing, moreover, where each hour they noted the temperatures, the wind, the sunshine. And we see well, for this August 8, 1923, the temperature will gradually rise to 36°C, 38°C, 40°C, 42°C, 44°C, and then drop very, very slowly in the evening.”
“44°C is quite plausible”
For him, it is clear: this 44°C is quite plausible. But it had been quite punctual,” he recalls, referring to temperatures “around 32°C after five days. But in the surrounding days, there were still 38°C and 39°C”. And if, in an unprecedented way, Toulouse and Haute Garonnewere placed on heatwave red alert in June 2022, the mercury did not reach this historic value of 44°C.
Well and truly a record, in Toulouse, in 2003
Although the absolute record is almost 100 years old, the 2003 heat wave nevertheless left an indelible mark in Toulouse. But you have to go to the other Météo France station, located at Blagnac airport. Inaugurated in 1947, it showed historical value 19 years ago: August 4, 2003, 40.7°C had been recorded. Unheard of in the youngest of the two Toulouse resorts.
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