La France et le changement climatique

Weather conditions for wildfires have changed …

The number of days with adverse fire weather conditions has increased over the last 30 years over the Iberian Peninsula and eastern Balkans. A decrease was observed for Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey.

Climate change already increases the number …

Small- to medium-sized rockfalls now occur up to 300 m higher in the Alps than 70 years ago. The number of rockfalls has increased since the 2000s, data since 1945 show.

The future of landslides in the …

A study on landslides in the French Central Pyrenees shows that these hazards may occur up to 4 times as often by the end of the century, under a high-end scenario of climate change.

For Europe’s high value coastal conurbations …

The consequences for Europe of doing nothing to the increase of extreme sea levels are hundreds of billions of Euros damage per year by 2100. Extra cost-effective protection reduces this risk by 95%.

Compound flooding in northwestern Europe: river …

Compound floods, simultaneous high water levels at the coast and in nearby rivers, have been relatively strong and frequent at times in parts of northwestern Europe. It’s not clear why.

Multiyear droughts on the rise in …

For a number of rivers, discharge regime is shifting from snowmelt to rainfall-dominated. The number of European regions affected by multiyear drought is expected to increase as a result.

Climate change is not always the …

Annual discharge of many European rivers has changed, but not necessarily due to climate change. In Spain, for instance, increases in irrigated areas and afforestation have played a major role.

Global warming may increase destructive potential …

When the Mediterranean Sea warms up, hurricanes in the area are likely to become more vigorous. Their winds will be stronger, and they will lead to more intense precipitation, increasing flood risk.

Permafrost changes are damaging winter sport …

The number of damaged infrastructures seems to be small still: 12 out of 947 infrastructures since the 1990s. Numbers have doubled, though, between 2010 and 2018 compared with the period 2000-2010.

A new generation of wildfires characterized …

Despite a new fire policy, set up in France in 1994 to reduce the likelihood of very large wildfires, these events still occur. Massive fire suppression cannot control all extreme wildfire events.

Global warming will increase wheat, rice …

Crop yield losses to insect pests will increase globally with rising temperatures. Compared with the past, these losses increase by tens of percent for wheat, rice and maize crop at 2°C global warming

Reaching the targets of the Paris …

Burned area over Mediterranean Europe may increase by 40-54% under 1.5°C global warming. Higher levels of global warming increase drought conditions that in turn lead to larger burned areas.

Technology may counterbalance negative impacts of …

Climate change will negatively affect cereal yields in Western Europe, a study for France has shown. Still, yields are projected to increase, thank to technological improvements in agriculture.

Maximum summer temperature in France could …

Current record maximum summer temperature in France is about 42°C. Under a high-end scenario of climate change record maximum value could easily exceed 50 °C by the end of this century.

Adaptation could turn climate change into …

Climate change may reduce potential rice yields in the Mediterranean. Adaptation strategies could overturn the situation, however, turning climate change into an opportunity for European rice growers.

Changing wildfire regimes in Mediterranean Europe: …

Higher temperatures and more droughts not necessarily increase the number and intensity of wildfires. The combination of climate and human effects makes predictions of future fires highly challenging.

It will rain harder high up …

In contrast to global climate model projections the intensity of summer rainfall may increase. This is important for fresh water supply and, for instance, with respect to flash floods.

Climate change caused 70% of heat-related …

As a result of the extreme hot summer of 2003, 44,000 people died in Western Europe. How rare was this extreme event, and what is the effect of climate change?

French and Swiss wine grape harvest …

There is increasing evidence that warming trends have advanced wine grape harvest dates in recent decades. Across the globe, harvest dates advance approximately 6 days per degree of warming.

Debris flows in the Alps in …

For the Alps, the main trigger of debris flows is high intensity, short duration rainfall. Under future climate change, it is likely that increases in extreme rainfall will alter debris flow frequency

Climate change impact on Europe’s air …

Air pollution is a serious health concern in many parts of the world. Projections of air quality changes over Europe under climate change are highly uncertain, however.

Trends in the hydrologic regime of …

Global warming affects precipitation volumes in the Alps, the contribution of rain and snow to these volumes, and the timing of snowmelt. An overall decrease in snow cover

Global mountain topography and the fate …

Climate change is considered a large threat to especially montane species. These species often inhabit narrow elevational ranges

The vulnerability of Pyrenean ski resorts …

The vulnerability of the Pyrenean ski resorts to projected changes in the snowpack under various future climate scenarios has been analyzed. A shorter ski-season length

Severe Autumn storms in future Western …

In a warmer future climate, Western Europe will see larger impacts from severe Autumn storms. Not only their frequency will increase, but also their intensity and the area they affect.

Sea level rise projections for northern …

How much sea level rise is to be expected at the upper limit of current IPCC scenarios? This question has been dealt with for northern Europe

Elevation-dependent warming in mountain regions of …

There is growing evidence that the rate of warming is amplified with elevation, such that high-mountain environments experience more rapid changes in temperature

Climate change impacts on discharges of …

Discharges in the Rhone basin are likely to decrease significantly by the end of the century. Besides, seasonality of run-off will change substantially as well

Dramatically increasing chance of extremely hot …

According to a recent study, the chance of extremely hot summers would have increased dramatically since the 2003 European heat wave.

Changing geography of high-quality wine production …

European wine farms show considerable potential to improve their economic performance, and thereby ease their situation in a global change scenario.

Evolution of heat wave occurrence over …

For the period 1960−1989 on average one heat wave in 10 years was calculated, for 2020−2049 1 heat wave every 2 years was projected, rising to at least

Climate effect on Mediterranean fisheries

The Mediterranean Sea is warming in both shallow and deep waters. This warming is part of global climate trends and not a regional phenomenon.

Impact of climate change on hydrogeology …

Projected mean monthly river flow reductions in the Somme basin are around 20 % in 2050 and 30 % in 2080, while in the Seine basin, the decrease is larger in summer

Alpine and subalpine vegetation habitat reduction …

An assessment was made of the impacts of climate change on the potential distribution of six alpine grasslands, two subalpine (and alpine) scrublands and four subalpine forests

Climate change impact on peatlands in …

The hydrology of the peat layer and extent of this peat area are impacted by drainage for agriculture, groundwater abstractions in underlying aquifers and climate change.

Debris-flow activity in the Swiss Alps …

In the Alps, the overall frequency of debris flows may decrease in absolute terms, but the magnitude of events may increase.

Alpine snow cover in a changing …

Strong reduction of snow cover in the Alps is expected to have major impacts on winter tourism. Many ski-regions have mean elevations below 2,000 m

Risks and opportunities for managed grasslands …

Drainage and forage quality are projected to decline, whereas annual forage provisioning is positively affected, with opportunities of high spring and late fall forage production.

Climatic impacts on winter wheat yields …

The impact of climate change in recent decades on winter wheat yields has been studied for two wheat producing regions that are critical for the global market.

Future Alpine forest fire potential

So far, forest fires do not constitute a significant hazard in the central and northern parts of the Alps, while on the southern side they are more common

More hurricanes to hit Western Europe

Severe hurricane-force (> 32.6 m/s) storms can cause floods in west-European coastal regions and inflict large-scale damage on infrastructure and agriculture.

Wine and climate change in Roussillon, …

The main concern of wine producers is excessive summer water stress, leading to decreasing yields. It was estimated that yields in Languedoc-Roussillon could decrease by 26% by 2080.

Drought length, intensity and timing in …

Temporal trends in precipitation, temperature and solar radiation southern France have resulted in drier and warmer conditions over the region but with a high spatial heterogeneity ...

Parisian urban climate change

Model calculations project an increase of 2-meter air temperature for Paris between 1971–2006 and 2072–2098 of +2.0/2.4°C in winter and +3.5/5.0°C in summer ...

Climate change effects on winter ski …

A future reduction in ski season length and a drop in the number of skiers have been projected for Andorra, especially at the lowest elevation ski resorts ...

Ground water and climate change

Substantial reductions in potential groundwater recharge are projected for the 21st century in southern Europe and increases in northern Europe ...

Change in climate and berry composition …

Observed changes in berry composition were significantly influenced by the increases in temperature from 1960 to 2010 ...

Extinction debt of high-mountain plants

The extremes of possible climate-change-driven habitat range size reductions are commonly based on two assumptions ...

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