France’s dwindling climate funds have been thrown into the limelight, following the country’s record-breaking May heat.
Last month, the country sweltered under a powerful heat dome, with weather agency Météo France declaring that new monthly highs had been logged at 352 weather stations. The highest temperature of 37.1°C was registered near Hossegor, close to Biarritz, on Monday 25 May.
The unusually scorching temperatures were linked to a slew of deaths, including a 53-year-old runner who died during a race in Paris.
Scientists say the “unprecedented” heatwave had a one in 1,000 chance of happening at this time of the year, based on records dating back to 1979. But one expert warns that the intense heat has “the fingerprints of climate change all over it”.
Friederike Otto, a professor of Climate Science at Imperial College London, says the science is very clear: “Climate change makes these heatwaves hotter, longer and far more frequent.
