The second heat wave of summer to touch France continues to expand. In progress since Friday, it concerns this Sunday almost all the southern half of the country, with 42 departments placed in orange heat wave by Météo-France.
“On Sunday, in continuity of the previous days, the heat will still ride a notch in the south,” warned national forecast service on Saturday.
Many fire alerts
The thermometer should thus climb “frequently” up to 40 ° C, or even “exceed” them in the Hérault, the Var and the South of the Departments of the Ardèche and the Drôme. The hottest of the day, 42 ° C are also expected in Nîmes and 40 ° C in Perpignan, with points at 38 ° C in Bordeaux and Toulouse in the afternoon. On Saturday, 42.2 ° C was noted in Tiranges, in Haute-Loire, and 39 ° C in Lyon, in a region where the Mercury should “slightly” drop this Sunday according to the last forecast bulletin.
Météo-France, in parallel, classified the Vaucluse in “very high” risk for fires this Sunday. Ten departments in the Mediterranean periphery and its hinterland, and five others from the center-west, will be in “high” in danger. For its part, the SNCF has deleted several round trips on the Bordeaux-Marseille, Paris-Limoges-Toulouse and Paris-Clermont intercity lines, fearing “potential air conditioning breakdowns” on its oldest wagons due to the rise in temperatures.
Above all, the furnace will not immediately dissipate. According to Météo-France, this episode, which requires “special vigilance especially for sensitive or exhibited people”, could indeed be intensifying at the start of the week.
The peak “expected between Monday and Tuesday”
Monday, more than half of France, with 46 central departments and the southern part, will be placed in orange alert, according to an updated bulletin of Météo-France. The Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Creuse and Haute-Corse will go to this alert level this Sunday noon. Only Corsica-du-Sud is announced in yellow in the southern half of France. “The peak is expected between Monday and Tuesday” for this heat wave, which “should last until next week,” wrote Météo-France.
Our heat wave file
After a first heat wave this year from June 19 to July 4, it is the 51st recorded in France since 1947. According to the forecaster, who observes “an acceleration of the occurrence of heat waves” linked to climate change, the country has only known two summers without this type of episode in the past 16 years.