High temperatures are affecting the whole of France for the first half of the week. With an average temperature of 35°C, Météo France has placed nearly forty departments on orange heatwave alert.
The essential
- Since Sunday, the southern half of France has been affected by a heatwave which is getting worse as it progresses towards the north of the country.
- From this Monday noon, Météo France places 39 departments on orange heatwave alert. With local peaks at 40°C, particularly in Gironde and the Mediterranean.
- The departments on orange heatwave alert are: Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Aveyron, Indre-et-Loire, Isère, Charente-Maritime, Charente, Corrèze, South Corsica, Dordogne, Drôme, Gironde, Haute-Corse, Haute-Garonne, Haute-Loire, Haute-Savoie, Haute-Vienne, Loire, Savoie, Vendée, Vienne, Cantal, Cher, Gard, Gers, Ariège, Lot-et-Garonne, Lot, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Deux-Sèvres, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes.
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15:25 – Very high temperatures in the Olympic cities
In the early afternoon, the thermometer shows 35°C in the capital where many events are taking place, including a number of outdoor events such as tennis, beach volleyball and cross-country mountain biking. But Paris is not the only one hosting Olympic events today and tomorrow. Bordeaux, which is suffocating with its 40°C, is hosting football on Tuesday, as is Marseille, where it is currently 31°C. Fortunately, the cycling events and the marathon event are due to take place after this heatwave.
14:43 – Why do we talk about a heatwave?
A heatwave episode is a period of intense heat lasting at least 3 days and which poses a health risk to the population. Since Sunday, France has been experiencing a heatwave, the first of the year, because “the national thermal indicator will exceed 25°C for more than three days with a peak expected at 26.8°C on Tuesday and Wednesday”, indicates The Weather Channel.
13:52 – A very hot night is coming
Tonight, Météo France is announcing temperatures above 30°C in most departments. Only the departments north of Île-de-France should be spared from the tropical night looming in France. Conversely, in Toulouse, Limoges and Lyon, the thermometer will still display more than 35°C at sunset.
13:29 – 40°C in several cities
On Sunday, 40.1°C was recorded in Le Luc in the Var and this Monday several other cities in the South-West and the Mediterranean will be affected by mercury at this level. In Bordeaux for example, where it is already 34°C at 1 p.m., the heat is expected to rise further in the afternoon and continue into the evening.
1:02 p.m. – Île-de-France Mobilités launches its heatwave plan
Since Monday noon, IDF Mobilités has launched its heatwave plan for transport in the Paris region, while the number of users has exploded due to the Olympic Games events, which are taking place in Paris and the suburbs. 2.5 million water cartons will be distributed in 74 public transport stations, twenty times more than usual. Misters and water fountains are also available in several stations.
12:23 – A storm warning is added to the heatwave warning
This Monday, Météo France is placing 39 departments on orange heatwave alert, but some of these departments are also affected by a yellow storm alert. These are the Alpes-Maritimes departments of Cantal, Corrèze, Haute-Loire, Haute-Vienne, and Puy-de-Dôme. Creuse and Lozère are also placed on yellow storm alert, but the heatwave alert is more moderate (yellow) in these departments.
11:50 – A “particularly intense” heatwave
This Monday, July 29, 2024, Météo France places 39 departments on orange heatwave alert. This heatwave episode remains “relatively short-lived but particularly intense. It requires special vigilance, especially for sensitive or exposed people,” Météo France specifies.
Learn more
Since Sunday, the southern half of France has been affected by a heatwave. On Sunday, the thermometers went crazy in Cassis and Avignon, where it was 36°C, but it was in the Var that the temperature was the highest with 40°C. However, after a month of June “under water” and that of July hardly more summery, the risk of heatwave seemed to have been averted. But since the end of last week, a mass of hot air from Spain has risen in the southernmost departments of France.
Starting this Monday at noon, Météo France is placing 39 departments on orange heatwave alert. With local peaks of 40°C, particularly in Gironde and in some of the departments of the Mediterranean basin, temperatures exceed 36°C throughout the southern half. In Île-de-France and neighboring departments, the mercury will reach 33 to 35°C in the afternoon and remain there in the evening.
Tuesday will also be punctuated by heat and dry weather, with a rise in the heat wave towards the central and eastern regions. New departments could be placed on yellow heatwave alert, such as Jura, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire and Paris. In the south, temperatures should drop very slightly compared to the day before, although 40°C could be reached once again.
Elsewhere in France, the opposite is expected to happen. For Brittany, Normandy, Hauts-de-France, Grand-Est, Île-de-France and the north of Haute-Loire, temperatures will be below 36°C, but they should still gain 5°C on average compared to the day before, according to Météo France. In Paris, where a large part of the Olympic events are taking place, spectators and athletes will have to deal with the 35°C expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Wednesday is expected to be the hottest day of the week but also the last day of this heatwave, with an average of around 34°C expected across the country. But after the high temperatures of the afternoon, a new stormy episode is expected to hit 3/4 of the country and start the drop in temperatures, to seasonal norms, for the rest of the week.