Overview

• France will experience a precocious heat episode this week, with daytime highs reaching 27°C in Reims and 23°C in Toulouse.
• The unseasonal warmth is driven by a high-pressure anticyclone stretching from England to Germany, gradually warming the air mass over the country.
• Expected temperatures will exceed seasonal averages by more than 4°C nationwide, with May 1 potentially among the warmest in 20 years.
• The heat episode does not meet the criteria for an official heatwave under France's 'vague de chaleur' classification system.
• This summer-like spell is forecast to end by Sunday, as cooler, wetter conditions are expected to move in from the west.