With temperatures “very frequently higher” at 40 ° C, the heat wave that strikes France for several days has been intensified this Monday, particularly in the southwest. In the coming hours, this burning air mass will win the north of the country, bringing the heat wave to a large part of the territory.
France has been plagued by its 51ᵉ heat wave since 1947, and the current episode promises to be both intense and lasting. Started last Friday, the heat wave has already struck hard in the Southwest, as in Saint-Girons, in Ariège, where the forecasters noted 39.7 ° C, beating the 39.2 ° C of August 2023. In Bergerac, the record of August 2003 was equal, with 41.4 ° C. According to Météo-France, the hot air mass will go back in the coming hours to the north, under the effect of depression on the Atlantic.
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16 departments in red vigilance
Tuesday, August 12, the heat wave will continue its progress to the northeast and the center-east of the country. Until 6 am, twelve departments will remain in red vigilance. The Charente and the Charente-Maritime will then go back to orange vigilance, bringing the total to ten. But from midday, Isère, Drôme and Ardèche will in turn be placed in red. Sixteen departments will be affected by the highest level of alert. Météo-France talks about an episode of “exceptional” intensity.
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This week, up to 42 ° C are expected in Lyon, and 36 ° C in Lille and Paris. “Almost all of the territory, three-quarters of the country, will be affected by these extreme temperatures,” warns Patrick Galois, forecastist at Météo France. A slight drop is envisaged in the middle of the week, accompanied by a few thunderstorms, before a new scorching episode expected on Friday in the south, with a peak scheduled for the weekend of August 15. The heat should thus be extended until August 20.
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Hailed heat records
Since 1947, seventeen heat waves have been identified before 2000, against thirty-four after this date. If the duration of the current episode remains to be confirmed, it could be shorter than that of August 2003, which had lasted 16 days and exceeded the threshold of the very strong in Occitania. This year, the region is experiencing a comparable intensity, greater than that observed at the end of June. The city of Toulouse could also break its record of August 23, 2023 (42.4 ° C) in the coming days.
Overcoming the threshold of 40 ° C, rare in the 1960s, is becoming more and more frequent. If you get used to it, climatologists recall that it is a worrying and revealing phenomenon of global warming.