The Sunshine Departments of France
Tuesday 05 November 2013
The departments on the Cote d'Azur will always outshine other areas of France, but some other departments are not far behind.
The table below shows the number of sunshine hours in the top twenty sunniest departments of France in 2012, the latest period for which comprehensive information is available.
The Cote d'Azur takes the top five places, followed by departments in the regions of Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées and Rhône-Alpes.
Sunniest department is the Bouches-du-Rhône, which is a consistent performer at the top of the table.
In comparison with 2011 out of the 2012 list goes Haute-Loire (Auvergne), Corrèze (Limousin), Lot (Midi-Pyrénées) who are replaced by Charente Maritime (Poitou-Charente), Charente (Poitou-Charente) and Haute-Garonne (Midi-Pyrénées).
Many French departments are large, with different climate zones within them, so the table should be used only as a general guide.
| Sunshine Hours By Department 2012 | ||||
| No | Department | Hours | ||
| 1 | Bouches-du-Rhône (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 3.009 | ||
| 2 | Var (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,927 | ||
| 3 | Alpes-Maritimes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,915 | ||
| 4 | Vaucluse (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,897 | ||
| 5 | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,880 | ||
| 6 | Gard (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,804 | ||
| 7 | Hautes-Alpes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,734 | ||
| 8 | Hérault (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,683 | ||
| 9 | Pyrénées-Orientales (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,608 | ||
| 10 | Ardèche (Rhône-Alpes) | 2,454 | ||
| 11 | Drôme (Rhône-Alpes) | 2,450 | ||
| 12 | Aude (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,365 | ||
| 13 | Lozère (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,360 | ||
| 14 | Aveyron (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,249 | ||
| 15 | Tarn (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,233 | ||
| 16 | Charente-Maritime (Poitou-Charente) | 2,182 | ||
| 17 | Tarn-et-Garonne (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,161 | ||
| 18 | Cantal (Auvergne) | 2,160 | ||
| 19 | Charente (Poitou-Charente) | 2,141 | ||
| 20 | Haute-Garonne (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,124 | ||
Source : Météo France
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