2003 set to be hottest on record for France

PARIS (AFP) Oct 29, 2003
2003 is likely to be the hottest year in France since record-keeping began 150 years ago, the deputy director of the national weather service, Meteo-France, said in a press conference here Wednesday.

Unless the weather is exceptionally cold until the end of the year, the average temperature in 2003 would be "nearly half a degree (Celsius)"higher than the average from 1900-2002, the official, Philippe Courtier, said.

The increase, which is extremely high in meterological terms, was caused by a heatwave in July and August which drove the mean summer temperatures to four C (7.2 F) higher than the 1900-2002 average.

Meteo-France believes "exceptional" heatwaves of this kind will happen five times more frequently by the end of this century because of man-made global warming.

SPACE.WIRE