France records second warmest September as 70% rainfall deficit worsens drought

Record temperatures and heatwave episodes

On 2 October 2026, national meteorological service Météo-France published its monthly climate assessment, confirming that September 2026 was the second warmest September recorded in France since nationwide record-keeping began in 1900. Average temperatures across the country finished 3.1 °C above the 1991–2020 climate baseline, placing the month second only to September 2023. Maximum daytime temperatures averaged 4.5 °C above seasonal normals across the entire country, with local anomalies reaching up to 6 °C above normal between Roussillon and the southern Massif Central. The territory experienced three separate heat episodes during the month, including an intense stretch from 3 September to 8 September that established new high temperature levels from Midi-Pyrénées to the southeast and Alsace. Sunshine duration across the country was also heavily in surplus, ending more than 30% above seasonal averages.

Across the month and the country, temperatures show an anomaly of 3.1 °C above the 1991-2020 normal.

Four consecutive months of thermal anomalies

The sustained warmth in September represented the fourth consecutive month in 2026 with a national temperature anomaly exceeding +3 °C. Météo-France noted that a consecutive streak of four months with temperature anomalies of this magnitude had never been observed since modern records began. The warm period followed an extended sequence of heatwaves during the summer months, preventing thermal relief across French regions. Outside of a single rainy passage recorded on 8 September, dry conditions and clear skies persisted across mainland France for nearly the entire month.

This is the fourth month where the temperature anomaly is very significant and exceeds +3 °C, never before seen over more than three consecutive months.

Severe precipitation deficits across mainland France

Rainfall measurements indicated that September 2026 was the third driest September in France since pluviometric records started in 1958, behind only 1977 and 1985. Precipitation across the mainland suffered an average deficit of 70% compared to long-term averages. The dry month extended a broader trend: France has not recorded a single month with surplus rainfall since March 2026. Prior months also faced severe precipitation deficits, including 60% in April, 50% in June, and 60% in July. Aside from a Mediterranean storm event that brought intense downpours to the Gard and Hérault departments at the end of September, rain was almost entirely absent nationwide.

Soil drought and municipal water supply pressures

The extended lack of rain intensified soil dryness throughout the country. France's national soil dryness indicator remained for nearly the entire month at levels never before observed for September, approaching the absolute dry record established in August 2026. Nearly all of France experienced soil drought conditions with an average recurrence period of once every 10 years, particularly along an axis extending from the southwest to the northwest. Although the late Mediterranean downpours provided surface moisture to parts of Gard and Hérault, the broader drought created acute water supply challenges. On 23 September, the Ministry of Ecological Transition reported that 81,300 people across metropolitan France were dependent on tanker trucks or bottled water distribution for drinking, cooking, and sanitation.