Heatwave: 75 departments overheating, end of red alerts

Much of the country remains overheated on Thursday, August 14, the seventh day of a heatwave that is still crushing in 75 departments, according to Météo France, which has however lifted the red alert in the last departments affected.

This new heatwave, the second of the summer, began last Friday in 11 southern departments, before gradually spreading to the vast majority of the country and Andorra, with the exception of the northwest quarter, which remained unaffected on Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to drop "temporarily by one notch compared to Wednesday" , particularly in the central east, but will remain "at scorching levels over a large part of the country" on Thursday, particularly in the southern and eastern three-quarters of the country, warns Météo France in its latest bulletin.

As in previous days, record temperatures were recorded on Wednesday: 41.7°C in Châteaumeillant (Cher); 39.8°C in Nevers (Nièvre) and 39.7°C in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne (Savoie), at an altitude of 698 m, according to Météo France.

The Rhône, Drôme, Ardèche, Isère and Aude departments moved from red to orange alert at 6 a.m. on Thursday, providing a relative respite in mainland France, which will continue to experience very hot weather, with orange alerts for three-quarters of the country.

On the other hand, temperatures will rise slightly in the southwest, particularly in Aude, where the heatwave is putting a strain on crops .

The orange alert level will affect 80 departments on Friday, compared to 75 on Thursday, according to Météo France. Among these departments, two (Val-d'Oise and Marne) will no longer be at this level after 6:00 a.m. on Friday, while others in the west will not be at this level until noon.

Still in Occitanie, the rise in the temperature of the Garonne due to the high temperatures has led EDF to reduce production at the Golfech nuclear power plant, as provided for in a 2006 decree: the plant takes water from the river, then releases it at a higher temperature, thus contributing to the warming of the water.

In the Paris region, affected by a "persistent" episode of ozone pollution, traffic restrictions are being put in place starting Thursday. From 5:30 a.m. until midnight, the maximum authorized speed will drop from 130 to 110 km/h on motorways, will be capped at 90 km/h on 110 km/h lanes, and those limited to 90 or 80 km/h will drop to 70 km/h.

Since Friday, France has been experiencing its 51st heatwave since 1947. The drop in temperatures on Thursday will be "very relative and temporary," warns Météo France, as very high temperatures are again expected for the weekend of August 15, with temperatures probably reaching up to 40°C in the southwest.

Excess mortality studies show that heat kills more people than hurricanes, floods, or any other extreme weather event .

Prevention has improved since the 2003 heatwave (15,000 deaths) and fewer people are now dying from the heat, but more than 5,000 people died from it in the summer of 2023, according to Public Health France.