Hair Dryer Use Suspected in Winning Paris Temperature Bets
by Roy Brindley,
27 April 2026
Unexplained temperature rises at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport – and successful bets associated with them – spark a police inquiry.
Was the weather sensor at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport tampered with? © Getty Images
Key Facts:
- Small punters win big courtesy of unexplained temperature spikes in Paris.
- Wagers were placed shortly before temperatures rose.
- Soldier tasked with capturing the Venezuelan President has been charged with using classified information for gain.
- 15 high-profile Brits are also in hot water for potential insider trading.
French police are investigating suspected tampering with a weather sensor at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport after a series of unexplained temperature spikes coincided with successful large payout bets placed on the US betting/prediction platform Polymarket.
The inquiry began after Météo-France, the official French meteorological administration, filed a complaint citing abnormal readings and physical evidence on one of its instruments. Investigators are examining whether the sensor used to determine official temperatures was deliberately tampered with.
At the centre of the French case are sharp temperature increases of around 4-5°C within minutes on two days during April. Meteorologists say the fluctuations are highly unlikely to occur naturally. One Polymarket account, created only days earlier, wagered less than $30 (to win almost $14,000) on an unusually high temperature being recorded on April 6.
Small Bets for Hot Winnings
The web-based charting platform and social network, TradingView, reported that a second winning trader account opened less than 30 days earlier repeated the trick on April 15. Despite its highest ever win being $13, this account made more than $21,000 on a $119 stake when temperatures surged from 18°C to 22°C before quickly falling back.
Did someone manipulate the weather on Polymarket? 🇫🇷
This account made 180x on a Paris temperature market, betting just before a “glitch” at a local weather station 🧵 pic.twitter.com/TPPGyvmky3
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) April 22, 2026
According to reporting by BBC News, some of the wagers were placed shortly before the temperature changes occurred, raising suspicions that those involved may have had advance knowledge – or even direct influence over the readings.
Nearby weather stations did not record similar spikes, suggesting the anomaly was isolated to a single device. Internet speculation has focused on simple heat sources, such as a lighter or a hairdryer, being used to raise the recorded temperature artificially.
Danger in the Pursuit of Cash
The result of Police investigations could see any convicted individuals receive significant penalties. In addition to committing fraud for financial gain, as Ruben Hallali, CEO of Paris-based weather intelligence firm HD Rain, points out, there is a more serious issue at hand.
“The temperature data gathered by such a station is used by airlines and air traffic control at the airport in the calculation of take-offs and landings and setting routes, and even a small change could result in real-world consequences and butterfly effects,” Hallali states. “If there is a mistake in this data, it can be dangerous.”
Soldier Bets on Special Op
A separate but related case in the United States has highlighted growing concerns about insider trading and manipulation on the Polymarket platform. It is a flourishing binary (yes/no outcomes) betting exchange on real-world events, including weather, geopolitics, and military events.
According to ABC News, a US special forces soldier, Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, has been charged with using classified information to make $409,000 betting on the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
Damingly, Van Dyke was involved in the operation to capture the Venezuelan President at the start of January. Similarly, ABC highlighted the case of another Polymarket user who made c$550,000 through a series of bets on the US striking Iran and on the removal of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
15 Brits Accused of Gambling Act Breach
The UK is not averse to its own cases of people accused of betting on the outcome of events with the benefit of prior knowledge of the outcome. In April 2025, the Gambling Commission charged 15 people with offences under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005.
The number includes former MP Craig Williams, Russell George, a member of the Welsh Senedd, Laura Saunders, a Conservative parliamentary candidate, Anthony Lee, a director of Conservative campaigning, and Nick Mason, a chief data officer for the Conservative Party.
All are accused of placing bets on the timing of the 2024 General Election. Their trials will take place during September 2027 and January 2028. The offence of cheating under the Gambling Act carries a maximum sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment.
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