Paris just had its hottest October in 150 years

And in France overall such balmy autumn had not been seen since the end of World War II

This year’s European summer was scorching, and as far as its small summer in October is concerned, things have been just as unusual, with reports that the October that just passed was the hottest that France has experienced since 1945!

The average temperature in the past month was 17 degrees Celsius, meaning it was 3-4 degrees above the usual. The previous record dated to 2001 when temperatures averaged 16.3C.

And if you think, it’s been a while since the French had the chance to enjoy such balmy conditions in autumn, then the Parisians had it even better, or worse, depending on who you ask. The French capital had its hottest October since 1873, or nearly a century and a half since that record.

“Roped heat feather” effect

Given that high temperatures have also happened in the distant past back when industrialization and population density was at lower levels may inspire some to argue that climate change is thus not a real thing.

However, the reality is that Meteo France statistics clearly show that the majority of the warmer-than-seasonal Octobers happened after 1968. Other may joke that this has to do with the hot student protests that considerably raised the cultural and political temperatures there as well.

Warmer autumns are becoming more and more frequent occurrences, and according to Christophe Cassou, research director at CNRS, it can also be attributed to a phenomenon called “roped heat feather”, which strictly speaking isn’t its scientific name.

"This week's heat plume is the result of a dynamic planetary-scale undulatory circulation originating in the Pacific, with amplification over the Atlantic along the propagation of the wave," summarizes the scientist, as quoted by 20Minutes.

According to him, that effect is very much linked to human influence on the climate, which causes more weather extremes to become a reality.