HEAT WAVE. The weekend promises to be still hot in a south-eastern quarter of France. Météo-France maintains its orange heat wave vigilance in 14 departments and yellow in 7. Where will it be 37/38 degrees this weekend? What are the forecasts for the end of July and the beginning of August? The latest info.
[Mis à jour le 22 juillet 2022 à 16h28] If in the north and west of France the heat wave is behind us, this is not the case for a part of the south-east which is still concerned by the yellow and orange heat wave vigilance of Meteo France. The forecasts still indicate strong heat in the south-east until the end of July with possible peaks at 38, even 40 degrees in places. For the rest of France expect to see the mercury rise again in a generalized way on Sunday, but we are not expecting a new heat wave, the temperature thresholds to designate a heat wave should certainly not be reached, and the episode should not last. As a reminder, the heat wave must meet several conditions:
- Temperatures 5 degrees higher than normal for the season;
- Day and night ;
- For at least 3 consecutive days and 3 nights.
It is the second heat wave of the summer and many temperature records have unfortunately been broken in June, but also in July, as in Brittany or Loire-Atlantique. The 40 degrees have often been exceeded, as in Paris, for only the third time. The level 4 heat wave plan (red vigilance) has even been triggered in several departments. Should we fear other episodes of heat waves this summer? What are the forecasters predicting for the days and weeks to come? Here’s what you need to know.
The weekend will still be hot in the south-east, and France will experience a general rise in temperatures this Sunday, July 23, but this should not last.
Temperatures will drop from Monday according to Météo-France, except in the east where it will be around 30 degrees, and in the south-east where the mercury can rise to 36 degrees at the hottest of the day. Same scenario for Tuesday and Wednesday in the south-east where it will still be hot, but the temperatures will still drop a little, by around 3 degrees, certainly marking the end of the heatwave episode in the region. In the east, temperatures will become more pleasant again. From Thursday, the rain will arrive everywhere in France, except in the extreme south-east which will benefit from sunny weather and summer temperatures.
Which departments are in red, orange or yellow on the heatwave vigilance map?
Météo France updates its heat wave and storm vigilance map twice a day. No department is on heatwave red vigilance, but the heatwave persists in the south-east, and still 14 departments are on heatwave orange vigilance and 7 in yellow. 53 departments (+ Andorra) are also on storm yellow vigilance and 4 on storm orange vigilance. Only the southwest is not affected by any vigilance. You should know that Météo-France provides several levels of heat wave vigilance: level 1 (green) corresponds to a “seasonal watch”, level 2 (yellow) to a “heat warning” and it is level 3 (orange) which corresponds to the “heat wave alert”. Finally, level 4 (red), the highest, determines “maximum mobilization”. Are you concerned? Find the map below and all the practical explanations in our file on heat wave vigilance and the heat wave plan.
How long will the heat wave last, when will it end?
The heat peak has passed. Expected Monday in the west and Tuesday in the northeast, it gave way to more freshness in the southwest then in the west with the arrival of the first storms which reached Paris on Wednesday. But the heat wave continues in the south-east of France with temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees, until the end of the week. The first models still indicate strong heat at the end of July in the south-eastern quarter of France. A possible rise in temperatures generalized to the whole of France is expected on Sunday and Monday, but we will speak of a heat wave, and not of a heat wave, the thresholds not having been reached.
What are the recommendations to follow during the heat wave?
Heat wave, heat peak, heat wave and heat dome: what are the differences?
Heat wave and heat wave are two different things. To speak of a heat wave, the temperatures must be 5 degrees higher than normal for the season, day and night, and this for at least 3 days and 3 nights. The heat wave temperature threshold therefore differs according to the departments and regions. Heat waves most often occur in France in July and August. We must be vigilant from the month of June. High temperatures, even above seasonal norms, do not necessarily mean a heat wave. Most often, these are heat waves.
The term heat peak is more to be used during a sudden rise in temperature, whereas a heat wave corresponds to a longer episode. Météo France judges that a heat wave is in progress when temperatures above the monthly average are detected by more than three degrees Celsius, for at least three days.
Last term often mentioned these days when talking about these scorching temperatures, that of a heat dome. A heat dome settled over almost the entire country this May 2022. This meteorological phenomenon is explained by a large mass of hot air from Morocco and Spain, trapped by atmospheric pressure. This usually occurs in summer, but also in spring. This results in scorching heat.
You should know that Météo-France provides several levels of heat wave vigilance: level 1 (green) corresponds to a “seasonal watch”, level 2 (yellow) to a “heat warning” and it is level 3 (orange) which corresponds to the “heat wave alert”. Finally level 4 (red), the highest, determines “maximum mobilization”. In summer, it is not uncommon for several departments to be placed on orange or red alert for the heat wave.
Heat wave 2022: after two heat waves (June and July), a very hot month of August in sight?
Does this hot weather from May with a first heat wave then the heat waves of mid-June and July predict a very hot summer in 2022 with heat waves? It’s off to a good start! The end of July promises to be still very hot, especially in the south-east of the country. Here’s what forecasters predict The Weather Channel until mid-August:
- Week of July 25 to 31: it’s the end of the heat wave. Thunderstorms could cross the country, and the very high temperatures at the start of the week should drop after the thunderstorms pass.
- Week of August 1 to 7: thunderstorms are still expected, and a further rise in temperatures from the southwest is to be feared. The Weather Channel explains that “another cold drop could form off Portugal, again raising fears of a rise in temperatures from the south-west. It is difficult to be more precise at this time, but the level of temperatures on the country will once again depend on the positioning of this cold drop”. This rise in temperatures should therefore concern the south more.
- Week of August 8 to 14: seasonal temperatures.
Heat wave: what are the temperature records recorded in recent years?
If the heat wave of the summer of 2003 remains in everyone’s memory (and that of 1976 also among the old), France has since experienced other episodes of very hot weather. The summer of 2019 had broken several records with absolute temperature records reached in several cities. According to data from Météo-France, 50 cities had thus recorded a new record since July 25, 2019. While the summer of 2019 had been very hot, some records were broken during this heat wave in mid-June 2022.
A look back at the first heat wave of summer 2022 and the heat wave day of Saturday June 18, 2022: 150 municipalities broke a heat record according to meteorologist Patrick Marlière, interviewed by BFM TV: “We went from 70 cities with monthly records beaten, more than 150 today in France, from the Pyrenees to the Belgian border”. The city of Nantes thus broke its record for the month of June with 39.1°C. In the South-West, records at more than 40 degrees have been reached: Biarritz with 42.9°, Saint-Jean-de-Luz with 42° or Bordeaux with 40°.
The July 2022 heat wave also set temperature records on Monday, July 18. Among the 63 records recorded that day, the majority are in the north, west or southwest. We can cite :
- Beaulieu-sur-Layon (49): 42.7°C
- Biscarrosse (40): 42.6°C
- Nantes (44): 42°C
- La Roche-sur-Yon (85): 41.5°C
- Cholet (49): 41.3°C
- Niort (79): 41°C
- Rennes (35): 40.5°C
- Caen (14): 40.1°C
- Dinard (35): 40°C
- Saint-Brieuc (22): 39.7°C
- Noirmoutier (85): 38.7°C
- Lorient (56): 37.6°C
- Brest (29): 39.3
- The island of Yeu (85): 35.9°C