Orange heat alert for 33 departments
Temperature records were broken in a number of towns this weekend, though heat is set to drop as of today in many areas
THIS WEEKEND saw an exceptional heatwave across France, with 33 departments still on orange alert for heat this morning across the south-east, centre and north-east.
The alert, put out by Météo France, refers to “dangerous” weather and calls for people to be “very careful”.
A number of temperature records for different areas were broken including 41.5C at Châtillon-sur-Seine in the Côte d’Or, 40.3C at Mathaux l’Etape in the Aube, 36C at Morteau, Doubs (and even 34C in Mouthe, Doubs, a town that hits record lows in the winter) and 35.8C at Briançon, Hautes-Alpes (1,800m above sea level).
Temperatures reached 39C in the capital.
Météo France says there has never been such an extreme heatwave after August 15 before.
Prefectures acted on weather advice and set in place Level 2 of the plan canicule (heatwave plan), “warning and action”, in 34 departments.
This involves sheltering elderly people in cool rooms in hospitals, monitoring their hydration and at local level staying in contact with those living at home alone.
A free heatwave helpline was opened yesterday – 0800 06 66 66.
Health Minister Marisol Tourraine advised drinking plenty of water and avoiding intense exercise, like jogging or tennis, at the hottest part of the day.
So far however, she said, there are no worrying indications of any increase in deaths due to the heat.
The heatwave has not been as bad as the notorious one in the first half of August 2003, said to have caused up to 15,000 premature deaths, mainly among the elderly, when temperatures went above 40C for several days in a row.
Météo France said the heatwave got under way in the south-west on Friday and has been progressing north and north-east. However some areas will see temperatures dropping from today and are likely to be taken off orange alert. Paris, for example is expected to be 10 degrees cooler today.
By the weekend temperatures should be back to normal for the season the experts say.
However unusual weather of another kind could be on the way, with Hurricane Gordon set to arrive on the French coasts around the end of the week, bringing heavy seas and violent winds.
The storm has come from the tropics and passed the Azores last night.
Photo: Météo France
