Nice Côte d'Azur Airport has been around for almost one hundred years - at least the airfield has. It has grown, admittedly, but the city has also spread out and densified quite considerably. Nice can be described as an "urban" airport. The French Riviera boasts other characteristics that influence the airport's development: 80% of its population live on a narrow strip of coast hemmed in by mountains; rail transport is not fast enough; and road access into the region is saturated.

Location
Seasonal variations
Daily variations
Temperatures
Rainfall
Sunshine

Location

Located on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Nice Côte d'Azur Airport enjoys a Mediterranean climate, tempered by the sea. The climate is renowned for its mildness. Summer temperatures are less fierce than in the hills. In winter, the weather remains mild and sunny. Heavy downpours are concentrated over a limited number of days and are rare in summer.

The French Riviera is sheltered from the Mistral wind.

Nice is exceptionally sunny due to its south-facing position, the influence of the sea, and the shelter provided by the mountains of Provence and the Alps.

Approximately 61% of the wind blows between 2 and 4 metres/second (7.2 to14.4 km.p.h). The most frequent wind direction is north-west, plus some east.
The annual average wind speed is 4.1 metres/second (14.76 km.p.h).

Seasonal variations

Seasonal disparities do, however, exist. During the three summer months, the winds blow in a different direction than during the rest of the year (seasonal inversion). From June to September, most of the wind that blows between 2 and 4 metres/second (7.2 to14.4 km.p.h) comes from the sea. However, mainly during this period, the most violent winds (>16 metres/second or 57.6 km.p.h) blow from the east and west-south-west.

Daily variations

Wind directions change in the Var and Paillon valleys.

Sea breezes blow during the day from east-south-east to south-south-west. They start mid-morning, reach their climax at around 2pm and stop blowing by the end of the afternoon. Sea breezes are likely to carry pollution emitted at sea onto the land.

Land breezes blow constantly at night from north-west to north-north-west. Flowing down the Var Valley, they reach their top speeds at the end of the night. They ease off in winter and disappear in summer during the day.

Breezes are most noticeable in summer. They cool the heat that can sometimes be intense and prevent fog from forming in the valleys. Only one day of fog is recorded each year, a fact that plays in the airport's favour.

Temperatures

Temperatures recorded between 1971 and 2000 at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport's weather station:

• Average daily temperature in the coldest month: 9.1°C (January)
• Average daily temperature in the hottest month: 23.6°C (August)
• Annual average minimum temperature: 12°C
• Annual average maximum temperature: 19.2°C
• Annual average temperature: 15.6°C

Rainfall

From 1971 to 2000, average annual rainfall was 803 mm with a peak in October of 143.9 mm. Rainfall is relatively light in summer, recorded on only a handful of days. The region's fine weather and lack of rain are due to the anticyclone from the Azores. When rain falls it is intense, especially in the month of October.

In 2001, only 421.8 mm of rain fell, with a peak in January of 97 mm. It can therefore be said that 2001 was a year of drought.

Sunshine

Nice is exceptionally sunny because it faces south and benefits from the effects of the sea and shelter from nearby mountains. Between 1971 and 2000, Nice enjoyed 2,667.2 hours of sunshine per year. Over 1,000 of these were during the summer. In 2001 the sun shone for 2,887.2 hours.

The climate in Nice is a boon for Nice Côte d'Azur Airport: there is hardly every any snow or ice, so the airport does not have to de-ice aircraft or runways - a regular source of pollution at other airports.

The relatively few occasions when there is water on the surface of the runways are short-lived (excluding freak weather conditions such as storms).

Rainfall is the weak point in the Alpes Maritimes' climate. Downpours are quite intense in relation to other Mediterranean coastlines and the humidity level is relatively high.

Anticyclonic conditions in the summer generate a combination of meteorological phenomena that cause pollution levels to rise locally. Hot, dry, sunny weather and low winds foster an increase in the concentration of pollutants - such as ozone during the day (minimal dispersion). The sun's rays and high temperatures spark off various photochemical reactions.