Day 3361 (Friday) 21st August 2026
I don’t know when this was taken but this is Octroi, the top main road
and this is the path to the train station.
We had some serious rain last night, of course I slept through it all but it woke Huw up and thank goodness it did because the rain had come directly into the blue room soaking the floor and my chair. It was still overcast this morning but by lunchtime it brightened up beautifully, very little humidity and a lovely temperature. So the passengers on this cruise ship saw our little town in all its glory.
This record was broken last night when we had some much needed rain.
'47 days without rain' - French drought intensifies
France's drought is intensifying with severe water restrictions and even northern towns like Dunkirk recording weeks without a single drop of rain.
Images from the European space satellite Copernicus show France parched and brown, almost desert-like, as towns and cities all over the country record weeks with little or no rain.
Although drought might be common in southern France, even northern towns like Dunkirk - in the normally cooler and rainy Nord département - have recorded weeks without rain.
Dunkirk has not recorded any rain for the past 47 days - breaking a record set in 1962 of 38 days without rain.
In nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer, just 260mm of rain has fallen since the start of the year - in contrast to the average of 410mm for the same period.
Dunkirk and Boulogne have both also recorded 31 days of temperatures of 30C or above, while nearby Lille has recorded 35 days at 30C or above.
The same picture is repeated across France - nationally the country had seen 50 percent less rain than normal by June, 70 percent less by July.
“We are experiencing an exceptional summer, both in terms of temperatures and the lack of rainfall,” said Simon Mittelberger, a climatologist at Météo France.
In Paris, there has been 27mm of rain in June, July and the first half of August - 80 percent less than the average for the same period over the past 50 years. The previous record low was 43mm, in 1921.
Nantes reported just 20 percent of its usual average rainfall between June 1st and August 15th, Toulouse 26 percent, Perpignan 22 percent, Nice 26 percent.
In the Loire-Atlantique department, “24mm of rain fell between June 1st and August 15th, while the previous historical minimum was 39mm, or 143mm over the course of a whole summer,” said Simon Mittelberger.
“That gives you an idea of how much rainfall would be needed just to have an average summer.”
The lack of rain has led to severe drought, with the entire country affected by some level of water restrictions and two-thirds of France on the highest 'crisis' level restriction, which bans the use of water by households for anything apart from drinking, cooking and washing.
Nationwide, drought levels have reached record highs, exceeding those of the historic summer of 1976.
The drought has also contributed to one of France's worst wildfire seasons on record, with 70,000 hectares burned since the start of the summer.
So when will it rain?
Weather forecasts predict cooler temperatures for France this week, accompanied by some rain, especially at the end of the week.
Some areas will experience storms, but in others the rainfall will be quite light.
Although welcome, the rain will not be enough to lift drought restrictions in most areas.
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