It’s very hot everywhere in France. But not in this little village in the Aude Pyrenees, where the weather is pleasant and even a little cool!!!
At the end of June 2025, temperatures are breaking records across France. It is over 40°C in the shade in the southwest. Eighty-four departments are on orange alert for heatwave. Life is difficult for humans, animals, and plants. Except in a small village that is not in Brittany, but in the department of Aude: Comus!
“A cold spell”
In Comus, on Sunday, June 29, in the morning, it was 8.1% around 7 a.m., according to the local daily newspaper L’Indépendant.
And the day before, on Saturday, June 28, the thermometer read a mere 4.6°C. Enough to put on a down jacket.
“It’s true, it’s nice here,” says Madame Pélofi, who is lucky enough to be one of the village’s 33 inhabitants. “We don’t know what a heatwave is, or if we did, it was a long time ago.”
Comus is located at an altitude of 1,240 meters, in the Pays de Sault, on the banks of the Hers-Vif, at the entrance to the Frau Gorges. It borders the department of Ariège. This geographical location protects the village from major climatic variations and, in particular, from major heat waves. This is what specialists call a “cold trap.” A sort of depression in which cold air accumulates at night. The air warms up more slowly than elsewhere.
A little paradise
“There aren’t many of us in Comus, but we’re happy here,” adds Ms. Pélofi. “It’s a mountain village. For shopping, we go to Belcaire, 9 km away. There are a lot of second homes here.”
It must be said that the Pays de Sault is particularly popular with tourists, with its magnificent mountains, forests, and numerous rivers. The municipality has two Natura 2000 sites, a protected area, and six natural areas of ecological, faunistic, and floristic interest.
In short, it’s a little bit like paradise on earth.