France’s new ‘hottest recorded temperature ever’ is in question – guess where it was measured?

Ian Duncan writes on Facebook:

‘France has its hottest recorded temperature ever’.

But they don’t mention that where it was recorded was next to a concrete drain, and a steel chain mesh fence close to a bitumen (asphalt) highway.

So much for only using correctly placed instruments in a Stevenson Screen in a open space away from unnatural heat source.

You can see the station here:

https://goo.gl/maps/hF4KbSoXTt6WZfLr6

Here is the fun part – it might be the “greenhouse effect” /sarc

Seriously though, who knows what effect those greenhouses might have had on the high temperature? What we do know is that greenhouses accumulate heat and raise the temperature. Depending on wind direction that day, they may have vented waste heat in the direction of the thermometer shelter. The same could be true for the asphalt highway.

As for the heat wave itself, Dr. Roy W. Spencer adds:

When Saharan air reaches Europe, it’s going to be hot. Regarding record-high measurements, it is legitimate to ask about the placement of temperature sensors, as well as the length of temperature records.

For a record length of, say, 100+ years and NO long term warming trend, it is still expected from random weather variations that new record high temperatures will be recorded from time to time.

The recent record high in Miami, FL was made in the middle of a vast concrete jungle that did not exist 100 years ago, and now averages 10 deg. F warmer at night than rural surroundings.

One other thing to consider – Stevenson screens that are easily accessible like that are prone to biases (or forcings, if you will) that “real climatologists” don’t usually consider – like vehicles being parked next to them. Look at the satellite view: (station circled in red)

Remember this fiasco in Scotland a couple of years ago? An ice-cream truck with generators constantly running was the cause of a “man-made climatological event”.

Friday Funny: Scottish “record high temperature” caused by Ice Cream Truck

So is the new French absolute all time high temperature record valid? I’m surmising it is not. There’s just too many influences to consider.

Certainly, the measurement environment there is far different than that of 100 years ago. And, who knows if somebody parked a vehicle next to that French station on June 28th? Maybe a lunch wagon/food truck frequents there to cater to the nursery workers.

UPDATE: 6/29/19 11:40AM From comments, there’s some question as to whether this is “the station” or not. Regardless, the station shown above is in fact poorly sited. I’ll do more checking this evening. -Anthony

UPDATE2: 6/29/19 11:56AM It seems that it may not even be an “all time record”.