The coldest French village experiences its first frost-free October in 140 years | Abroad

Mouthe is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 930 to 1450 meters, in eastern France near the Swiss border. Because the village, which has just under 1,000 inhabitants, is at the bottom of a valley between two mountain ranges, the cold air lingers there.

On January 13, 1968, the temperature fell to minus 36.7 degrees, a cold record for France. According to unofficial measurements, it was even 41 degrees below zero in January 1985. Due to the low temperatures, the village is also called “Little Siberia”.

Last month was the first time since measurements began in 1880 that there was no frost in Mouthe, reports meteorologist François Jobard from Meteo France. Until now, there had always been at least two frost days in October. October was exceptionally hot all over France: the last week of October it was still 31 degrees in the southwest and 23 to 26 degrees in the north of France. The number of cold days in Mouthe has been declining for a century and a half, explains Jobard.