Home » News » Meteorology – Climate | Did the Côte-d’Or experience its hottest start to the year on record?

Meteorology – Climate | Did the Côte-d’Or experience its hottest start to the year on record?

April 29, Météo France published an article on its site explaining that France had its hottest start to the year ever measured in the country. “The temperature since the start of 2020 has reached, on average in France, 9.6 ° C, an anomaly of +2.3 ° C compared to normal 1981-2010.” A temperature that exceeds the years 2007 and 2014, becoming the warmest ever measured over the same period since the beginning of the 20th century.

We wanted to check whether this observation also applied to the Côte-d’Or scale. After verification, Frédéric Decker, meteorologist at MétéoNews, explains that the average of the first five months of this year in Dijon is not the highest from 1922 to today. Indeed, with an average of 9.75 degrees, it comes in second position just after the year 2007 and its 10.04 degrees.

A rather smaller difference, especially when we see that the Côte-d’Or has remained well above the seasonal norms each month this start of the year 2020, with sometimes a difference of almost 6 degrees. Stéphane Nedeljkovitch, also a meteorologist at MétéoNews, gave us the precise details of these readings.

The difference between the average of the maximum temperatures and the seasonal norms at the same period is visible from the month of January. The average recorded in Dijon was indeed 7.7 degrees (normal of 4.8 degrees). A difference which is also noted during the night since the average recorded (0.8 degree) exceeds the norms (-0.8 degree). It’s even more visible in February. At night, the average recorded was 3.5 degrees (normal of -0.4).

While the gap remains discreet in the month of March, it is however huge in the month ofApril, where the Côte-d’Or has experienced many days above 20 degrees. Thus, while the normals are at this period of 15.2 degrees, the average of the maximum temperatures recorded in 2020 rises to 21 degrees, with a peak of heat on April 23 when it was 25.3 degrees in the city dukes.

Finally, for the month of may, the mean was 21.3 degrees (normal 19.5). “The month of May that we had was equivalent to a month of June,” remarks Stéphane Nedeljkovitch. On May 22, 29 degrees were indeed recorded in Dijon.

A cooler period in the coming days

“We pay the excesses,” quips Stéphane Nedeljkovitch, who explains that compensation effects can occur on the weather. Thus, episodes of freshness can occur. Over the next ten days, the Côte-d’Or should enter a cooler period and fall below seasonal norms. A drop in temperatures which should not last since the summer season promises to be warmer and drier than normal.


Is it the fault of global warming?

This is the question we immediately ask ourselves: are these differences between the averages and the seasonal norms the consequence of global warming? Stéphane Nedeljkovitch, who says he is “more and more determined on the question”, replies in the affirmative. “As the years go by and by observing the weather phenomena, we see that it is always on the rise. We often beat heat records, this kind of phenomenon occurs more and more often.”


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