2023-08-13 22:46:31
REPORTAGE – Closed in the spring, the old weather station has turned into an “awareness center” on the climate.
Special correspondent in Valleraugue (Gard)
It is an altitude fort embedded in the rock, placed above a desert. At 1567 meters above sea level, the Mont Aigoual observatory, the summit of the Gard department, dominates the Causse Méjean, borders on Mont Lozère and keeps Ventoux at bay. In good weather, it even offers a view of the Alps. An orientation table is also installed at the top of the crenellated tower of the fort. Built in 1894, the thick brown stones of this fortress still housed until last spring an observatory reputed to be the highest inhabited weather station in Europe.
Such a location owes nothing to chance. There are 241 days of fog per year on site. It rains here as rarely elsewhere in autumn and winter and icy storms (up to 360 km/h of gusty winds!) frequently smash against the stones of the walkway. In summer, the contrasts are striking: in just a few hours, a thick mist can sometimes…
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