France’s Hottest Year Was Also 2nd Driest, Putting Climate Pressure on Government

France experienced its hottest and second-driest year on record in 2022, putting pressure on the government to step up its fight against climate change that’s straining everything from energy to agriculture.

Temperatures averaged 14.5 Celsius last year, the highest since record began in 1900, according to Meteo-France. Rainfall was the second-lowest since 1959 as a series of heat waves hit the country from May while a rare cold snap in early December was followed by a warm spell.

📊#2022 🇫🇷🌡️ Année la➕chaude jamais enregistrée depuis 1900 (début statistiques T°C moy 🇫🇷).
🌧️ Au 2e rang* (quasi ex-æquo avec 1989) des années les moins arrosées depuis 1959 (début statistiques cumul 🌧️ moyen 🇫🇷).
*rang sera confirmé fin janvier
➡️https://t.co/trvTgMcfu8 pic.twitter.com/iipU9klAZ9
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) Jan. 6, 2023

“Europe is warming faster than the rest of the World,” Meteo-France said. “As an illustration of global warming,” the year 2022 could become “the norm for France in the middle of the 21st century.”

Most of Europe was hit by record temperatures and rain deficits last year, reducing crops, curtailing hydro-power and nuclear output, and resulting in excess deaths. Shrinking water tables are also undermining soils, cracking the walls of homes that become unsellable and sometimes uninhabitable.