Heatwave July 2022: departments still under the heatwave. Who and until when?

HEAT WAVE. Temperatures still remain high in part of France and Météo France is extending its orange vigilance in 13 departments. Where will it still be very hot? What temperatures are expected? When will the heatwave end? Here is the latest information.

[Mis à jour le 25 juillet 2022 à 9h25] Be careful, the heat wave is not over for everyone in France. Meteo France maintains its orange alert in 13 departments of the south-east and its heat wave yellow vigilance in 4 departments. It will still be very hot in the southeastern quarter of the country, with highs of 36/38 degrees in places. If it is hot during the day, it is also the case at night. Next night it will still be 27 degrees locally in the southeast quarter. For the rest of France, seasonal temperatures are expected this week.

France is not the only one affected by these repeated heat waves, this is the case for all of Europe, and the high temperatures of this summer have already caused several deaths, and the unions are worried. No European legislation exists to protect employees exposed to high heat. Thus, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is pleading this Monday, July 25 for the adoption of a law determining a maximum temperature for working in Europe in order to protect employees. “Weather conditions don’t care about national borders. That’s why we need EU-wide legislation on maximum temperatures at work,” says ETUC Deputy General Secretary Claes-Mikael Stahl in a press release. Some European countries “have legislation intended to protect workers during heat waves”, explains the ETUC in its press release, but in an uneven way, with “great variations” from one State to another. But above all, this is not the case in all countries, such as France “which does not cap temperatures at work”, where “12 people died of heat-related work accidents in 2020”, notes the CES in the same press release.

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.

After a rise in temperatures on Sunday almost everywhere in France, temperatures will drop today, Monday July 25 according to Météo-France, except in the east where it will be up to 34 degrees in Strasbourg and 33 degrees in Colmar e 32 degrees in Belfort, and in the south-east where the mercury can rise to 36 degrees at the hottest of the day like in Dieulefit or 35 degrees in Aix-en Provence. Peaks at 38 degrees are even expected locally. It will also be hot in Lyon with 34 degrees expected. Everywhere else, the temperatures will be seasonal with 28 degrees in Auxerre and Toulouse, 27 degrees in Tours, 26 degrees in Paris, 25 degrees in Bordeaux and Rennes, or 24 degrees in Nantes.

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, the temperatures will become more pleasant again and in the rest of France, the temperatures are still seasonal.

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 13 departments are on heatwave orange vigilance and 4 in yellow. 40 departments (+ Andorra) are also on storm yellow alert. Only the west of the country 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 for a large part of France, but the heat wave continues in the south-east of the country with temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees, until the middle of the week. From tomorrow and Wednesday, the temperatures will drop slightly, probably marking the end of the heatwave episode. Despite the general rise in temperatures on Sunday in France, it did not last and a third heat wave is not to be feared in the west of the country.

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