After a long stretch of wintry weather, temperatures shot to near 30C in southwest France today, smashing February heat records, the national weather service said.

In the southern town of Orthez, temperatures peaked at 28.3C - its hottest reading for February on record.

“In the southwest, the mild weather has turned into outright spring heat, with temperatures worthy of May,” Meteo France noted.

“Temperatures, already high for this season, are climbing further between [today and tomorrow NZT],” the weather service noted, adding readings had exceeded 25C at multiple stations.

In the southwestern city of Biarritz, 27C was measured - 14 degrees above normal - along with 26C in Pau.

The warm weather comes after a long streak of rainy days in France and one of its wettest months for February on record.

Scientists say the rising temperatures are driven by the rising greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming.

-Agence France-Presse