Sunniest Departments in France 2014
Friday 03 April 2015
Which were the sunniest departments in France in 2014?
The table below shows the number of sunshine hours in the top twenty sunniest mainland departments of France for 2014.
Not surprisingly, the region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur dominates at the top of the list, gaining the first five places. The sunniest department was the Bouches-du-Rhône, a consistent performer at the top of the table over successive years.
The west Alantic coast had a good year, with a cluster of departments in Poitou-Charentes and the Pays-de-la-Loire all present.
The Midi-Pyrénées region also had three departments in the table.
The Pyrénées-Orientales (Languedoc-Roussillon) was the driest department in France last year, with a mere 349 millimetres of rainfall.
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 2014 | ||||
| No | Department/Region | Hours | ||
| 1 | Bouches-du-Rhône (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,773 | ||
| 2 | Alpes-Maritimes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,680 | ||
| 3 | Vaucluse (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,581 | ||
| 4 | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,568 | ||
| 5 | Var (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,540 | ||
| 6 | Gard (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,482 | ||
| 7 | Hérault (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,445 | ||
| 8 | Hautes-Alpes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) | 2,442 | ||
| 9 | Pyrénées-Orientales (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,420 | ||
| 10 | Aude (Languedoc-Roussillon) | 2,271 | ||
| 11 | Ardèche (Rhône-Alpes) | 2,233 | ||
| 12 | Drôme (Rhône-Alpes) | 2,195 | ||
| 13 | Charente-Maritime (Poitou-Charentes) | 2,176 | ||
| 14 | Tarn (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,142 | ||
| 15 | Vendée (Pays-de-la-Loire) | 2,107 | ||
| 16 | Tarn-et-Garonne (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,105 | ||
| 17 | Charente (Poitou-Charentes) | 2,082 | ||
| 18 | Loire-Atlantique (Pays-de-la-Loire) | 2,071 | ||
| 19 | Haute-Garonne (Midi-Pyrénées) | 2,049 | ||
| 20 | Cantal (Auvergne) | 2,047 | ||
Source : Météo France
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