Heatwave in France: will it last longer than expected?

Concerns that France’s third major heatwave of the year is set to last longer than anticipated are growing as temperatures continue to climb today.

Highs of 30C are forecast across most of France, rising to 35C in Paris and central areas. The south-west and Mediterranean will potentially reach highs of 40C and above for the second consecutive day.

Yesterday (July 7) several departments saw temperatures of 40C and above, including 41.5C in Dordogne and Aude, and 41.4C in Maine-et-Loire.

State forecaster Météo France has placed 67 departments on a tier-three orange warning for heatwave (canicule) conditions today, and by tomorrow, all but three departments are facing heatwave warnings of some kind. 

Forecaster La Chaîne Météo, owned by Le Figaro, has issued red heatwave warnings across the south of France in Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, and Hérault. 

These are unofficial and unlike alerts from the state forecaster do not come with any official actions attached, but point towards extreme heat in the area. 

Overnight temperatures in parts of these departments are set to stay as high as 28C, typical daytime highs for the season.

Temperatures across the coming days will fluctuate slightly, getting progressively warmer in the north (up to 35C) but no longer reaching above 40C in the south. 

However, temperatures will remain significantly above average across all areas.

Forecasts earlier in the week pointed to the heatwave lasting until around Friday (July 10), before temperatures drop at the weekend. 

While they were forecast to remain above national averages for the season, they would not reach heatwave levels. 

Revised models however predict that the intense heat is set to last until mid-July. 

“We could see these high temperatures persist at least until July 15 or 16 or even, according to some scenarios, until July 17 or 18,” said forecaster at Weather Solutions Pierre Huat to FranceInfo. 

It is worth noting that Météo France is not currently predicting that the heatwave will last so long, and currently expects conditions to remain this intense “only until the end of the week” (around July 11 - July 12).

If the heat continues to climb for another week, Météo France is however expected to implement red-level canicule warnings across the country as the impact of prolonged heat begins to take effect. 

The country has retained its emergency ORSAN plan from the June heatwave and has kept it at the highest level possible during a period of crisis, with a new round of heat-related hospital admissions forecast. 

Wildfire update

An extended heatwave poses concerns not only for health authorities but also firefighters, who have been tackling a series of major blazes in southern France. 

Météo France has placed seven southern departments on a red-tier warning for forest fire risk today. This is due to both the high temperatures and strong winds across the south.

Updates on the forest fire situation in France include: 

• A 22-year-old firefighter has died in Savoie while tackling a blaze overnight. A volunteer firefighter, he was hit by falling rock while putting out a fire and died instantly

• Around 800 firefighters remain deployed to tackle a major blaze at Trévillach (Pyrénées-Orientales). The fire is not yet under control but has stopped spreading and some people have been able to return to their homes following an earlier evacuation. The largest blaze of the year so far, it has burned nearly 5,000 hectares of land

• A fire in the commune of Die (Drôme) has burned more than 2,000 hectares of land, with 450 firefighters deployed to tackle the blaze. Villages and holiday camps in the area have been evacuated

• A blaze at Carlencas-et-Levas (Hérault) has started up again after firefighters struggled to contain it. Ongoing since Sunday, the fire is suspected to have started due to arson

• Also in Hérault, the prefecture has temporarily banned agricultural work during daytime hours until July 25. Evening harvesting is possible only if fire control protocols are in place at the time of the work 

Around three times as much land has already been burned compared to summer 2025, said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

Find more updates about the wildfire situation in our article here.