France experiences the warmest October since 1900

Last month was the warmest October in France since 1900, with average temperatures reaching 17.2 degrees Celsius (63 Fahrenheit) -- 3.5C (38.3F) above normal -- according to Meteo-France weather service.

October 2001 was significantly warmer than the previous record month, with an average temperature of 16.3C (61.3F) -- 2.6 C (36.7F) above normal -- the agency said.

This was due to a large low-pressure area from the Atlantic that brought up hot air masses from the Maghreb, which were blocked by an area of high pressure over Eastern Europe.

The city of Mouthe in the Region Bourgogne, the coldest city in France, October ended without frost, for the first time in 140 years, Meteo-France noted.

But it was not only in France that October was particularly warm.

"The month is not over yet, but we can already say almost for sure that it will be the hottest month (in Spain) since 1961," the Spanish meteorological agency AEMET reported last Friday.

The UK Meteorological Office said Wednesday that temperatures of 20.5C (68.9F) in London were "closer to what we would normally see in late August than late October," adding that October was also unusually mild in Germany and Belgium.