France breaks 76-year-old record for highest 1-day national average temperature

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – France has broken a 76-year-old record for the highest national average temperature in a single day after August 15, with the country's weather authority recording 27.1 degrees Celsius (80.78 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

France has currently been hit by a new heat wave, with temperatures reaching as high as 27.1C (80.78F) on Tuesday, Meteo France said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

This is a record for the summer period after August 15, and a temperature that high has never been recorded since 1947, Meteo France said.

On Monday, the average temperature in France was 26.6C (79.88F), a record since August 19, 2012, when the average temperature in a single day was 26.4C (79.52F) in the summer after August 15.

As the temperature surpassed Monday's, new average hot weather records can be set as the country faces the heat wave.

Meteo France has also issued a red alert for 19 departments due to the impending heat wave on Wednesday.