5.1.2.4.2 Rainfall

2019 was another year of contrasts in terms of rainfall:

• in the first half of the year and the summer, there was a shortage of precipitation over much of the southern half of Europe (including France), as well as in Germany and part of Central Europe, while precipitation levels were close to normal in North Europe;
• the autumn was particularly rainly (especially in the south-east of France).
  

Water flow coefficients in France in 2019 and 2018⁽¹⁾

The normal water level is conventionally set at 100%. In January 2019, water flow coefficients amount to around 52%, which is the low point of the curve (along with the month of September), reaching 170% in December 2019 (the high point of the curve).
In 2018, it goes from 160% in January (high point of the curve) to 100% in December, with a low point of 52% in October.

The graph also shows the min and max water flow coefficients per month over 10 years from 2009 to 2019.
The differences in average water flow coefficients per month over 10 years are particularly significant in November, December and January (around 50% to 170%).

(1) Weekly monitoring by EDF’s OSGE energy observatory of French reservoir levels ( Miréor project) as far as the coast.

-2019
-2018

France suffered a shortfall of precipitation in the first eight months of the year (particularly in February, June and September) and snowfall varied widely between different mountain ranges. The summer was hot and dry once again, with two intense but relatively short heatwaves in less than a month, resulting in fairly harsh summer droughts across a very large area of the Massif Central and in North-East France. The drought was ended in October by abundant rainfall in all zones from the middle of the month. By the end of the year, cumulative precipitation was very high.

As a result of these contrasting weather conditions, water flow coefficients in France were below normal in the first eight months of the year (except in June which benefited from a concentrated thaw), until the situation improved substantially in mid-October. In the last two months of 2019, the aggregate coefficient for France was the highest recorded in more than 50 years (higher than 1992 and 2002). Over the year as a whole, however, it remained slightly (3%) below normal.