Weather: 2023 was the driest year recorded in Sète, what consequences to expect in 2024 ?

Les feux de forêts pourraient se multiplier en 2024 vers Sète et ses alentours, en raison de la sécheresse causée par les faibles précipitations de 2023; Illustration Midi Libre – ANDRE BENAMOUR

Avec 210 mm de cumul de précipitations, 2023 a été l'année la plus sèche enregistrée à Sète. Quelles conséquences pour 2023 ?

In 2023 only 210 mm of precipitation fell in Sète. This is a record for low rainfall, which we would have liked not to break. According to Adrian Bourgois, "we would need rather copious precipitation between now and the end of winter to have an approximately normal summer situation. If there isn't one, it could have consequences."

Total annual precipitation in Sète in 2023. Midi Libre – Sophie Wauquier

Water tables at worrying levels

Starting with the water tables. "Normally, they fill up naturally from one year to the next", contextualizes Adrian Bourgois. "We observe that they are at very low levels following a particularly hot summer of 2023 and after an already dry year 2022.

At the moment, we have soil humidity corresponding to a normal end of summer, reveals the forecaster to Météo France. Thus, if the aquifers do not recharge sufficiently by this summer, "it could have consequences on agriculture and lead to restrictions on the use of water’ quot;.

The coming danger of forest fires

Low precipitation also impacts plants, shrubs and trees in the Thau basin. "As the soils are increasingly dry and temperatures are increasingly high, vegetation is suffering. It would not be surprising to have brush fires in winter, even before the coming summer, specifies Adrian Bourgois, while a fire affected Mont Saint-Clair in December 2023.

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