A record high temperature for the Aude department in southern France has been registered as France enters the peak of a new heatwave affecting much of the country. The south-west is particularly impacted.
Argeliers, in Aude (Occitanie) set a record with a high temperature of 43.4C on Sunday, August 10, reports Météo France and La Chaîne Météo.
The highest temperature ever recorded in France was 46C in the village of Vérargues, Hérault, on June 28, 2019.
Heatwave to continue
Several other locations in the south of France also recorded extreme heat on Sunday.
In Gard, Villevieille reached 42.8C and Nîmes registered its highest August temperature since records began.
In neighbouring Hérault, Moulès-et-Baucels and Prades-le-Lez reached 42.2C and 41.8C.
Céret, in Pyrénées-Orientales, reported 41.3C, while Avignon in Vaucluse saw 40C.
A total of 42 departments were placed on high (orange) alert due to heatwave conditions by state forecaster Météo France on Sunday.
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The alert level has been raised for 12 of them from Monday, August 11, with a red warning issued for the Aude, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Gironde, Landes, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne.
Red alerts, the highest level of warning, are issued when heat is both intense and prolonged, with potential serious health impacts.
A further 41 departments are also on high (orange) alert, including much of central and southern France, as well as parts of the Alps and Mediterranean coast.
Maximum temperatures on Monday are forecast to reach between 40C and 42C across vast swathes of the south-west, and also climbing above 40C in the lower Rhône valley.
Nighttime temperatures in these areas are also forecast to remain high, from 20C to 24C, and locally 23C to 25C between the Pyrénées-Orientales and the lower Rhône.
Train services are also likely to be disrupted, with the SNCF already announcing the suspension of several Intercités routes due to the heat, including on the Paris-Limoges-Toulouse and Paris-Clermont-Ferrand lines.
Relief for some from Tuesday but south-west to remain very hot
Cooler Atlantic air is expected to reach the western coast by Tuesday, but very hot conditions are expected to persist in the south-west and intensify in eastern regions.
Météo France forecasts 36C to 38C in areas from Île-de-France through the Grand Est to Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, with near-40C temperatures possible in the Lyon area.
In the south-west, maximum temperatures are likely to remain close to 40C in many areas until Wednesday, when the cloud cover is forecast to bring some respite.
