Heat wave in France: more than 40 ° C expected in several departments

The current heat wave, exceptional even for a month of August, tightens its noise on Tuesday: after the Southwest and its record temperatures, four departments of the center-east in their turn red vigilance, pushing the authorities to multiply preventive measures. In the Rhône, the prefect decided to suspend the external sites of mid-day until 10:00 p.m. and to prohibit any public event outside or in non-air-conditioned establishments until the beginning of the evening.

In total, at midday, the three-quarters of the country will at least be on orange alert. Only a small north-west quarter (17 departments), including Brittany and the Littoral from the English Channel to Pas-de-Calais, must escape the overwhelming tuffeur. Monday, several meteorological stations in the southwest recorded absolute temperature records: in Bordeaux (41.6 ° C), Bergerac (42.1 ° C), Saint-Emilion (41.5 ° C) or Angoulême (42.1 ° C), the thermometer is mounted at new levels.

They will remain very high Tuesday in the region, “40 ° C which can even reach the Aquitaine coast in places,” said Météo France. The hot weather will win the north and east in the day: 36 ° C at 38 ° C are expected from Val-de-Loire to Ile-de-France and Grand-Est, and 40 to 41 ° C in the Rhône valley to Lyonnais, well above seasonal averages, according to weather services.

In Ardèche, temperatures could rise to 42 ° C locally, according to the prefecture, which underlines that “the strong heat also concerns mountain areas, with 30 to 35 ° C at 1,000-1.200 meters above sea level”. On Wednesday, Red Heatworm Vigilance will still be in force in the 14 departments concerned, announced Météo-France in its bulletin published at 06:00, which also maintains orange vigilance the 64 departments under this alert level.

France has suffered since Friday its 51st heat wave since 1947 and its second in the summer of 2025. According to Météo France, it should last “at least until the weekend of August 15” and could even “undoubtedly” continue until August 19 or 20, which means that “the overall episode could last from 12 to 14 days”. That of the beginning of the summer had lasted 16 days, ranking among the three longer waves of heat in the country. France is not the only country concerned by intense heat. From the Iberian Peninsula to the Balkan countries, including Italy, temperatures are climbing.