The coastal city of Nice, on the French Riviera, experienced its hottest night of the year last night (13 August 2026). The lowest temperature recorded all night was +28.1°C!
The Côte d’Azur’s official weather bureau confirmed “the temperature never dropped below this level at any point”.
This doesn’t break the record set almost exactly a year ago (12 August 2025) when a minimum temperature of 28.7°C was recorded.
It’s been another sweltering summer this year, with most night-time temperatures recorded at 25 and above.
Antibes experiences two months of temperatures over 30 degrees
In Antibes – situated between Nice and Cannes – the days have been scorchers exceeding 30°C for over 53 consecutive days, with the actual perceived temperature being even hotter (because of the relative humidity) – reportedly approaching 40 degrees.
According to FranceInfo, this summer has seen the region experience temperatures at least 5 or 6 degrees above normal.
In some towns, like Antibes, it’s been difficult to escape the heat – with large expanses of concrete and too few trees large enough to provide meaningful shade. Avenues and squares lie empty beneath the summer sun, as people scurry from one patch of shade to the next. Children’s playgrounds have sometimes been busier at night than by day – as artificial grass (in parts of Nice) appears to radiate heat into the air above it, while in Antibes’ Old Town, stainless steel play equipment exposed to direct sunlight has been too hot to touch.
The beaches meanwhile have been packed – with wall-to-wall umbrellas.
Heatwave on the Riviera forecast to end this weekend
UPDATE: The meteo has announced the end of the heatwave has been delayed and lower temperatures are only expected after 21 August!
But there’s good news. The bureau predicts that from tomorrow (Saturday 15 August), temperatures will “gradually begin to fall”.
The meteo explained that “an oceanic air mass will begin to influence the country this weekend, finally bringing more bearable temperatures to our area”.
Large hail expected inland
Meteo Côte d’Azur also issued an alert for potentially severe thunderstorms this afternoon, particularly in inland areas.
The storms bring a risk of heavy rain, strong wind gusts and hail that has the potential to exceed several centimetres in diameter!
In a message at 12:25, the weather experts said that some thundery showers had already begun “signalling significant atmospheric instability”.
