FRANCE: Barely a month after daytime temperatures below freezing, Parisians bask in the 23°C sunshine

Record ID: 333236

  • Title: FRANCE: Barely a month after daytime temperatures below freezing, Parisians bask in the 23°C sunshine
  • Date: 16th March 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 15, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EIFFEL TOWER AND CHAMPS DE MARS PEOPLE LYING ON GRASS NEAR TROCADERO FOUNTAIN (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH STUDENT MEHDI BARKI, AGED 18, SAYING: "Not so long ago the temperatures were below zero and now it's hot." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LYING ON GRASS AND FOUNTAINS (SOUNDBITE) (French) YOUNG MOTHER KERIMA SAYING: "That's why we're wearing light, summer clothes. You don't really expect it in March." CARROUSEL AND EIFFEL TOWER VARIOUS OF THE LOUVRE MUSEUM
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVAD1Q6VDFULAXXS5I911YDFBY26
  • Story Text: The sun came out in Paris on Thursday (March 15) with temperatures in the capital reaching 23°C, a level described by Meteo France as "remarkable."
    The temperature is some 8-11°C above the average for the time of year in many parts of northern France, according to the same source, with Paris no exception.
    Barely a month ago, photos of the Eiffel tower covered in snow graced European front pages as the whole continent experienced unusually cold weather.
    At the start of February 2012, snow covered the Colosseum in Rome for the first time in almost three decades and night time temperatures in much of Eastern Europe dropped to -30°C.
    Yet only a few weeks on, workers in Paris sweltered in midsummer temperatures on Thursday (March 15) as they basked in the Place des Vosges during their lunchbreaks.
    The complete change has not gone unnoticed. French student Mehdi Barki, out in the sun on the Champs de Mars commented: "not so long ago the temperatures were below zero and now it's hot."
    In the first week of February, Paris's waterways including the famous Canal St Martin froze over. Some five weeks later on Thursday (March 15), Parisians were sunbathing on the banks of the Seine.
    This means the French capital has been subjected to a twenty-five degree swing in temperatures in the space of a few weeks.
    According to Meteo France, the good weather is set to continue into Friday, returning to temperatures more typical for the time of year just in time for the weekend.
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