French wine regions experience arid weather this winter

ow would you describe the current weather combining high temperatures and low rainfall? Would you call it a winter heatwave?

Serge Zaka: The word heatwave is very common in the media because it really sticks in people’s minds. But it would be wrong to use the term to describe temperatures ranging from 13 to 20°C. There is a precise temperature threshold for talking about a heatwave, which varies depending on the region, and is in excess of 30-35°C. In this instance, what we are talking about is a mild winter. The risk is for spring to get off to a false start, as plants may emerge from dormancy earlier and could encounter frost in April. We have had three months of above normal winter temperatures, with a peak of 28°C on Monday and summer-like thunderstorms, with hail.

Lack of rain is becoming a real weight on winegrowers’ minds, some of whom have even requested a special mass to implore rain.

There are some worrying localised cases in Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales, where winegrowing plays a very important role. There has been no significant rainfall for a year. With just 170 mm of rain, this is an arid climate akin to the edges of the Sahara. If it doesn't rain, we run the risk of exceeding the death threshold for vines, which is a drought-resistant plant. This is not water stress, this is about vines dying. Only 5% of the country is currently affected, but this has never been seen elsewhere in France. For the moment, it is limited in space and time, but in the future the risk will be less one-off. By moving into arid climates, we are moving away from weather patterns that are conducive to farming in France. This confirms the forecasts issued by experts at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and we must be aware of this.