Northern France beats heat records at weekend

Residents in several parts of northern France enjoyed the warmest Sunday ever reported at this time of year, weather authorities said, with Paris beating a previous record held in 1880.

The French capital, where outdoor terraces filled up with sun worshippers, saw temperatures soar to 21.6 degrees Celsius (70.9 degrees Fahrenheit) -- beating the 1880 record of 20.7 degrees Celsius -- Meteo-France said Monday.

Other cities in northern France also enjoyed record temperatures for early March, it added.

Jerome Lecou, a forecaster at Meteo-France, said the temperatures were similar to those normally enjoyed in May, and capped a mild winter in the country.

"We were easily seven to 10 degrees above seasonal averages," he said, before warning that temperatures were due to come back down at the end of the week.