France, July 2022: The driest month on record

Only a few days before the end of July 2022, France has experienced the driest July on record, at least since 1959. The first graph shows the departure from normal for the monthly accumulated precipitation in France, where July 2022 stands out as the driest month.  

This means that the largest part of the country has received less than 20% the normal precipitation as the next map from Météo-France shows:

The meteorological drought has led also to a hydrological drought, with historic low humidity levels on soil. The economical impact on the agriculture sector, including the severe hail storms in May and June 2022, is enormous. Climate models have been warning us for such conditions in the past few decades and even their scenarios where milder for this decade. 

Last, about 89 French departments are in a state of emergency regarding water shortage. People are strongly advised to use water in moderation for irrigation and for other purposes. The situation is not going to be better in August according to the latest forecasts.