This is the “hottest episode of summer 2023”: mainland France attacks, Monday August 21, a new week under a heat wave “ intense and lasting » with 50 departments placed in orange vigilance by Météo-France, and the changeover of four of them to red by the end of the day.
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In France, the thermometer already showed 30°C in Perpignan in the early morning of Monday August 21, and Météo-France expects temperatures “ comparable “even” very slightly higher “to those of Sunday on a large southern half of French territory, plunged under a dome of heat.
During a visit to Lyon on Monday, the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu announced that four departments would ” to fall over in the red by the end of the day. The decision taken, according to the Minister, given the persistence of the heat wave and the temperatures “Aims for the departments of Rhône, Drôme, Ardèche and Haute-Loire, according to his entourage. Details will be given in the 4 p.m. report from Météo-France.
” We could reach temperature levels never before reached in France, so we are very concerned “Warned the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau Monday morning on BFMTV.
Record temperatures
Météo-France, contacted by AFP, speaks of ” station records », So local, which risk being beaten on Tuesday, especially in the Rhône valley, with 40 to 42°C expected, pending the heat wave peak expected on Wednesday. The highest temperature ever recorded in France is 46 degrees in Vérargues, in Hérault, on June 28, 2019.
On Monday, the temperatures will still soar. It will be locally 41°C in the shade, especially in the southeast. Eleven massifs in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region have been closed to the public due to the risk of fire. The prefectures of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, Vaucluse and Alpes-Maritimes have also triggered the level 1 alert procedure relating to an episode of ozone air pollution.
On Sunday, it was in Cadenet, in the Vaucluse, that the mercury rose the most: we reached 41.3°C there, the maximum for this episode. particularly late for the season “, according to Météo-France, which only forecasts a drop in temperatures for Thursday or Friday.
Industrial sites that will have to reduce the amount of water used
The current weather pattern creates a “ heat dome », « with the high pressures that block the heat “, explained to AFP Météo-France on Sunday, adding: ” The second ingredient is global warming, which increases the probability of having high temperatures so late. »
In this scorching context, the government unveiled on Monday a list of twelve industrial sites which will be accompanied by the State to significantly reduce the quantity of water withdrawn for their operation, as part of the water plan unveiled in March. The list includes several players in the chemical industry, such as the TotalEnergies refining site in Donges – Loire-Atlantique -, but also in the steel industry, with ArcelorMittal in Dunkirk – North – and Florange – Moselle -, or even in the food industry, with the dairy cooperative of Isigny-Sainte-Mère – Calvados -.
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(With AFP)