The heat wave arriving from Spain progressed this Wednesday with temperatures between 30 and 35°C over the entire southern half of the country.
The worst is however to come with a mercury which should still panic by crossing the bar of 40°C locally on Friday.
As a sign of this worsening, the Weather Channel* has placed 13 departments in the South-West on orange “heat wave” alert and 19 other departments on “Significant risk”.
The organization specifies that this zone could be
"extended in the Rhone Valley for the period from Thursday to Saturday"
depending on the evolution of the forecasts.
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“The orange alert indicates that the department will reach the heat wave thresholds according to the defined criteria. The yellow level alert indicates that these thresholds will be approached and then possibly reached, thus highlighting the very high temperatures and their arduousness”
, specifies the Weather Channel in its press release.
As a reminder, to switch to heatwave alert, these thresholds must be reached for three days and three nights.
Météo-France has also activated the orange
“heat wave”
alert for 23 departments in a large south-west quarter, from Anjou to the Pyrenees, not to mention a heat island in Drôme / Ardèche, according to the latest point from Météo- France.
In the wake of the mass of hot air from the Maghreb via Spain, the maximum fluctuated between 32 and 35°C in the south of the country, according to the Weather Channel.
In the evening, the temperatures were still very high with 35°C in Toulouse, 34°C in Auch in the Gers and in Mont-de-Marsan in the Landes.
And that's just the beginning.
The mercury will continue to panic Thursday and reach records Friday and Saturday, the two hottest days of this heatwave episode.
“The nights will remain very hot (20° to 25°C), with probable records of high minimum temperatures.
During the day, values close to 36° to 40°C will be reached from inland Brittany to Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes and New Aquitaine, as well as in the lower Rhône valley.
For Languedoc-Roussillon, a slight attenuation of the heat wave will be felt on Saturday with the lifting of a sea wind”,
indicated the Weather Channel in its press release.
High risk of forest fires
Attributed to global warming, heat waves are increasing around the world, including in France where this episode is unprecedentedly early, the earliest, ahead of those of 2017 and 2005 which began on June 18.
It can have an aggravating effect on soil dryness after a particularly dry spring and winter and can increase the risk of forest fires.
In the South-East, the department of Vaucluse has been placed on ozone pollution alert - pollution resulting from the chemical transformation of other pollutants in the ambient air, under the effect of solar radiation -and the Bouches- du-Rhône will be on Thursday.
In Ile-de-France, the ONF warned of a high risk of forest fires and called for
"vigilance",
given the heat combined with the high influx of walkers in June.
In this stifling context, more than 500,000 high school students worked for four hours on the dreaded test of philosophy, equipped with water in quantity, in bottles and misters, as at the Lycée Général Victor-Louis de Talence, in the suburbs of Bordeaux. , where the examination rooms were set
up "on the north face"
, hidden from the scorching sun.
Here the staff has
"been very careful to choose the freshest and to ventilate since 5:30 am this (Wednesday) morning"
, noted Anne Bisagni-Faure, rector of the Academy of Bordeaux.
Faced with temperatures that put the bodies to the test, some companies adapt by modulating the hours, especially in the construction industry, explains Emmanuel Corbi, on a construction site in Toulouse.
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"
Our infrastructures are suffering because we have dilation phenomena which are linked to the temperature both in the rail and in the catenary"
, indicates for his part Thierry Rose, territorial manager of SNCF infrastructures at the Bordeaux St-Jean station, where 51.7°C were recorded at rail level during the day.
For their part, the communities are increasing the measures to relieve the residents.
In Bordeaux, foggers will be installed
“in places in the city which are ovens”
, indicates the health and seniors assistant of the EELV town hall, Sylvie Justome.
In Lyon as in Bordeaux, two ecological municipalities, we have extended the opening hours of parks and gardens.
In the Tarn, the mayor of the village of Saint-Benoît-de-Carmaux has decided to close the municipal school on Thursday and Friday, while providing a daycare service.
*The Weather Channel is a property of the Figaro group.