Sunniest Departments in France
20th June 2023
The top twenty sunniest departments in France, plus the hottest, coldest, driest and wettest.
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Sunniest Departments in France
20th June 2023
The top twenty sunniest departments in France in 2022, plus the hottest, coldest, driest and wettest.
According to Météo-France, 2022 was the hottest year on record this century, reflected in higher than normal levels of sunshine across the country.
It will come as no surprise to learn that Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur took the laurels as the sunniest region in mainland France. Five of the 6 departments in the region monopolised the top 5 places.
Top of the list was Var, with nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine. The departments of Bouches-du-Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes in second and third place ran them close with 2,989 and 2,973 hours respectively.
In 6th place was the Drôme department (2,707 hours) in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The region had 6 departments in the list.
The region of Occitanie also fared strongly, with 7 departments from the region in the top twenty.
By contrast, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region had a poor year, with only the department of Corrèze appearing on the list.
Unusually, on the west coast of France the department of Charente-Maritime did not figure, only making 27th place (2,311 hours). Neighbouring Charente was an also-ran in 42nd position (2,236 hours).
The popular department of Dordogne had 2,317 hours of sunshine, coming in 25th place.
The department with the lowest number of hours of sunshine (1,900) was Finistère (Brittany), followed by its sibling department the Côtes-d'Armour (1,955 hours).
The national average level of sunshine in France is around 2,000 hours each year.
Many French departments are large, with different climate zones within them, so the table below should only be used as a general guide.
| Sunniest Departments in France 2022 | ||
| Ranking | Department (Region) | Total Hours |
| 1 | Var (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,995 |
| 2 | Bouches-du-Rhône (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,989 |
| 3 | Alpes-Maritimes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,973 |
| 4 | Vaucluse (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,891 |
| 5 | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,853 |
| 6 | Drôme (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) | 2,707 |
| 7 | Gard (Occitanie) | 2,706 |
| 8 | Hérault (Occitanie) | 2,674 |
| 9 | Hautes-Alpes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,652 |
| 10 | Pyrénées-Orientales (Occitanie) | 2,590 |
| 11 | Ardèche (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) | 2,556 |
| 12 | Cantal (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) | 2,504 |
| 13 | Aveyron (Occitanie) | 2,492 |
| 14 | Lozère (Occitanie) | 2,425 |
| 15 | Rhône (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) | 2,408 |
| 16 | Aude (Occitanie) | 2,401 |
| 17 | Ain (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) | 2,397 |
| 18 | Corrèze (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) | 2,381 |
| 19 | Lot (Occitanie) | 2,365 |
| 20 | Haute-Loire (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) | 2,362 |
The other main weather records from the year were:
Hottest Day - The hottest day in the year occurred in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine departments of Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, when temperatures reached 43°C.
Coldest Day - The coldest temperature recorded was in several departments of the Grand Est - Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Meurthe-et-Moselle Moselle, Vosges - where it dipped to -13°C.
Driest Department - The driest department in France was the Pyrénées-Orientales, in the Occitanie region, with only 310mm of rainfall. The department has been experiencing a severe drought yet again this year and is traditionally one of the driest departments in France. It was followed by Bouches-du-Rhône (390 mm) and Aude (412).
Wettest Department - Highest rainfall was recorded in Finistère, Brittany which had 990mm of rainfall, followed by the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (922 mm) and Jura (880mm).