Dryness 2005 / 2006: balance at 1er March 2006
Rainfall report
Rainfall totals recorded between the beginning of October 2005 and the end of January were below normal over a very large majority of the country. With sometimes only 50% of expected rainfall, the rainfall record is particularly deficient in Picardy, Champagne-Ardenne, Lorraine, Alsace, Ile-de-France, the Center and in certain areas of Rhône-Alpes regions. and Provence-Alpes-Côtes-d'Azur.
The deficit is also marked on the north of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, Poitou-Charente, Limousin, in Midi-Pyrenees and on the east of Languedoc-Roussillon.
Elsewhere, precipitation was generally close to normal with the exception of Languedoc-Roussillon, hit by a particularly intense rainy episode at the end of January.
During the month of February, precipitation was rare in the extreme south of the country and in Auvergne. They were relatively abundant in northern Aquitaine, Limousin and the tip of Brittany. Elsewhere, precipitation has been generally moderate.
The hydrological season, from October to March, is the perfect time to recharge the underground reserves. The rainfall deficit observed today can therefore become problematic in the medium term if there is no rain in the coming months. These reserves are used during the summer for human consumption, irrigation and industry.
Hydrological balance
At 1er March 2006, the superficial soils are not very wet for the season on the Oise, the Aisne, the west of the Ile-de-France, the Loir-et-Cher, the Indre-et-Loire, north of Vienne, north-east of Deux-Sèvres, Bas-Rhin, north of Haut-Rhin, Loire and Savoy. In the rest of the country, shallow soils are generally saturated or close to saturation.
Map of soil moisture indices at 1 mars 2006: they can be consulted in the Meteo France website for free.
Corn crops are badly barred. You have to plant beets to make ethanol! Anyway we eat too much sugar it's bad for health (you have to eat cane sugar from the French West Indies it's better!).