People take the subway without face masks in Paris on May 16, 2022, as the mask is not mandatory anymore in public transport in France. France reported about 3 million COVID-19 cases and 147,257 deaths as of that day. Photo: VCG

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 C 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.

The warm spell did not meet the technical definition of a heat wave - when average nationwide temperatures need to surpass 25.3 C for three consecutive days.

But it is causing major problems for farmers and warnings that it might affect France's wheat crop which enters a crucial growth stage in May.

Wheat prices are at record levels globally, mostly due to the Ukraine crisis, which was a major exporter of the cereal before the conflict began in February.

All heat waves today bear the unmistakable and measurable fingerprint of global warming, a new academic report from experts in the World Weather Attribution consortium said last week.

Temperatures in India and Pakistan have hit records recently, while Spain has also issued warnings about extreme heat in some southern areas this week.

AFP