Heatwave: Southwest and Centre-East on high alert
The current heatwave, exceptional even for August, tightened its grip on Tuesday, August 12: after the Southwest and its record temperatures, four departments in the Center-East also moved to red alert, pushing the authorities to increase preventive measures.
In the Rhône, the prefect has decided to suspend outdoor construction sites from midday until 10 p.m. and to ban all public demonstrations outside or in non-air-conditioned establishments until early evening.
The department goes into red alert at noon, as do Isère, Drôme and Ardèche. The twelve departments of the South-West, already on maximum alert on Monday , remain so, with the exception of Charente and Charente-Maritime, which return to orange alert at 6:00 a.m. due to ocean winds.
In total, by midday, three-quarters of the country will be on at least orange alert . Only a small quarter in the North-West (17 departments), including Brittany and the Channel coastline as far as Pas-de-Calais, should escape the oppressive swelter.
On Monday, several weather stations in the Southwest recorded absolute temperature records: in Bordeaux (41.6°C), Bergerac (42.1°C), Saint-Emilion (41.5°C) and Angoulême (42.1°C), the thermometer rose to unprecedented levels. They will remain very high on Tuesday in the region, "40°C could even reach the Aquitaine coast in places," indicates Météo France.
🔴🌡 The #VigilanceRouge #Heatwave continues tomorrow Tuesday in several departments in the Southwest, and starts in the Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Ardèche.
🟠 #OrangeVigilance affects a very large part of the territory.
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The high temperatures will reach the North and East during the day: 36°C to 38°C are expected from Valoir to Île-de-France and Grand Est, and 40 to 41°C in the Rhône Valley as far as Lyon, well above seasonal averages, according to the meteorological services.
In Ardèche, temperatures could rise to 42°C locally, according to the prefecture, which emphasizes that "the intense heat also affects mountain areas, with 30 to 35°C at 1,000-1,200 meters above sea level."
On Wednesday, the red heatwave alert will still be in effect in the 14 affected departments, Météo France announced in its bulletin published at 6:00 a.m., which also maintains the orange alert in the 64 departments under this alert level.
"Temperatures are generally slowing down a little in the south, while they are rising slightly in the northeast: peaks of 40°C are forecast in Burgundy. Still around 35/36°C in Paris," added the forecasting institute.
In addition, occasional strong thunderstorms are expected from the southwest moving northward as well as the southeast, he predicts. While the episode is expected to last several days, the state has anticipated its health impact, with hospitals ready to respond to the situation, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin assured on Monday.
The prefectures also reiterated their advice to the population: "at these temperature levels, anyone, even young and healthy, can suffer from heatstroke or discomfort if they do not take real precautions," warned the State services in Drôme, where temperatures are expected to exceed 40°C during the day and 22°C at night on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The heatwave is contributing to the deterioration of air quality. The departments of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, and Vaucluse, in particular, are on level 2 alert for ozone pollution . It also increases the risk of forest fires. The massive fire that broke out Tuesday in the Corbières massif, which has been "under control" since Sunday, remains under surveillance.
Since Friday, France has been experiencing its 51st heatwave since 1947 and its second in the summer of 2025. According to Météo France, it should last "at least until the weekend of August 15" and could even "probably" continue until August 19 or 20, which means that "the overall episode could last 12 to 14 days."
The early summer heatwave lasted sixteen days, ranking among the three longest heatwaves in the country. France isn't the only country affected by intense heat. From the Iberian Peninsula to the Balkan countries, including Italy, temperatures are rising.
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