French towns sweat in record May heat

PARIS: Several southern French towns sizzled in record high temperatures for May on Wednesday, while the month as whole is on track to be the hottest since records began, the national weather service said.

Towns such as Albi, Toulouse and Montelimar in southern France set records of between 33.4-33.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, while areas on the west and northern coasts also logged unprecedented highs, Meteo-France said.

The country has been in the grip of an extraordinary warm spell for this time of year, with the last 37 days in a row featuring temperatures above the average. It was "highly probable" that May 2022 would be the hottest since records began, surpassing the previous high set in May 2011, Meteo-France said.