Hot summer and mild autumn ahead?

THE SUMMER holidays look set to be sunny and warmer than average across most of France - and we are due a mild autumn as well - according to forecasters.

Météo Consult says the hot weather witnessed in June will continue. It will not reach heatwave levels, although the south-east "could see long episodes of strong heat".

In its summer and early-autumn forecast, published this weekend, the group says: "We are in an atypical scenario because of the early heatwave in late June and early July.

"This has an influence on the forthcoming weeks. For the rest of summer, it's a similar picture to recent months with temperatures that are hotter than the seasonal average."

August temperatures are forecast to be up to 2°C higher than usual, with dry, sunny weather in the south but more variable in the north - and the chance of some violent storms over the Pyrenees.

Météo Consult says September should remain sunny, with early autumn temperatures about 1.5°C up on the seasonal norm.

The forecaster adds, however, that long-term weather forecasting is a science that is still developing. It has issued this latest forecast with a 60% confidence level, saying any long-term forecast is about trends rather than certainty.