France is currently experiencing a heatwave, which is expected to last for several days, with temperatures that could reach up to 40 degrees Celsius in some areas on Sunday.
This heatwave is affecting “much of the country” today, according to the national meteorological service, Météo-France, while more than half the country is under a yellow heat wave alert.
Most French regions will experience temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius today, with highs likely reaching 36–37 degrees Celsius in the southwest, central-west, and central-east of the country. Only Brittany, in western France, and the coastal regions of the English Channel, to the north and northwest, have so far been spared from this heat wave.
Tomorrow, Thursday, the number of regions subject to a yellow heatwave alert will increase. And “it is likely that the alert level will be raised to orange starting Thursday at noon in areas stretching from the Paris basin to the center of the country,” Météo-France added.
On Sunday, when many bands and amateur musicians are expected to take to the streets for the music festival, several regions may face temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, warned Cristel Robert, a forecaster with the French Meteorological Service.
This is the first heat wave this year in France and the 52nd since 1947, with their frequency increasing under the influence of climate change fueled by the massive use of fossil fuels. In Europe, Spain and the United Kingdom are also facing the threat of extremely high temperatures.
In late May, France experienced unprecedented temperatures for that month, but this episode did not meet meteorologists’ exact criteria to be classified as a heat wave.
The country is experiencing “heat waves that are increasingly frequent, increasingly numerous, and increasingly intense as well—a clear sign of climate change,” stressed Mathieu Sorel, a climatologist at Météo-France.
