Wettest winter for 60 years

Rainfall in France in the past two months has beaten previous records set in the winter of 1981/82, national forecaster Météo France has said.

A nationwide average of more than 280mm of rain was recorded between December 1 and January 31.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté saw most rain ever recorded during the period, as the country as a whole recorded the highest level of rainfall since the forecaster started officially started monitoring rain levels in 1959.

The two eastern regions were among those that had recorded twice the normal level of rainfall for the month of January alone. Nationally, rainfall in December was more than 50% higher than normal, Météo France said.