PARIS - France recorded its hottest April in almost 60 years and parts of the country have not had any rain for 30 days, weather forecaster Meteo France said on Wednesday.
"The month of April 2007 has been the hottest in France since at least 1950," Meteo France said in a statement, adding that reliable temperature records started in that year.
Hot weather hit the whole country, with temperatures around 3-4 degrees Celsius above normal in southern France and 5-6 degrees abover average in the north.
Rainfall levels were very low. Lille, the largest city in the north, had no rain in April, while Paris had 5 mm and Lyon 16 mm.
The dry weather has sparked fears for this year's grain harvest, and wheat prices are up around 15 percent since the start of April.
The French farm and environment ministries will meet farm unions on Thursday to assess the risk of drought.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
