The new heat wave was announced, it is setting up in France. It was 34.6 degrees (°C) in Aubenas and 33.1°C in Montélimar at 3 p.m. on Tuesday July 12. In the South-West, temperatures ranged between 33°C and 37°C and locally up to 38°C in the south of the Gironde… Seven departments were placed on heatwave orange vigilance due to the heat wave which is gradually gaining the country, announced Météo-France in a vigilance bulletin.
This bulletin, which recommends that residents of the areas concerned be “very vigilant”, takes effect on Tuesday and concerns the following departments: Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Garonne, Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne . Twenty-four departments, mainly on the western facade and in the South-East, are also on yellow alert. The weather alert scale has three levels of alert: yellow (“be alert”), orange (“be very alert”), and red (“absolute alert”).
The episode of strong heat, which should last at least until the beginning of next week, mainly concerns for the moment the Atlantic coast, the South-West and the lower Rhône valley, with temperatures between 36°C on Tuesday. C and 38°C, or even locally 39°C. Elsewhere it was usually between 30°C and 34°C.
Possible heat wave from Sunday
The heat wave will then spread towards the center, the east then the north, will drop slightly, then will again affect the entire metropolitan territory, before a possible heat wave from Sunday. This heat wave could last ten days. “On Wednesday the lows will be between 19 and 21°C, while the highs go up to 36°C to 39°C. The following days the temperatures continue to climb, ”writes Météo-France in its vigilance bulletin.
The intensity and duration of the phenomenon, an illustration of global warming which will cause summers “increasingly hot, where 35°C will be the norm”, are still difficult to predict, according to Météo-France. “A minimum of eight to ten days is expected,” with a peak likely “between Saturday and next Tuesday,” according to Météo-France.
On Tuesday morning, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, asked all ministers to mobilize: “The heat has a very rapid impact on the state of health of populations, in particular of the most vulnerable people. In this context, all the players in the territories must be mobilized. »
Restrictive measures
In Ile-de-France, the police headquarters has announced speed reductions on motorways and expressways due to an episode of ozone pollution scheduled for Wednesday. In Gironde, the prefecture has placed the department on orange alert for the risk of forest fires from Wednesday, which involves traffic restrictions in the forest and the ban on fireworks in predominantly forest municipalities until Monday.
In Morbihan, the city of Vannes announced the cancellation on Wednesday of the “Historical Festivals” parade, which was to attract 20,000 people, due to the heat wave and a yellow alert in the Breton department. The prefecture also banned the sale of fireworks from Wednesday morning due to the risk of fire and drought, an episode which has already earned Deux-Sèvres the mobilization of nearly 200 firefighters on Monday for crop fires.
After the city of Nîmes, which itself has given up firing its July 14 fireworks this year, due to the high risk of fire, the bans on these events have also multiplied in the last twenty-four hours. in the Southeast, mainly for individuals.
Vigilance is the most “severe” in the department of Vaucluse, whose prefecture has announced the total closure of the forest massifs from Wednesday to Sunday, as well as the total ban on firing of fireworks during the same period. In Gard, Hérault, Var and Alpes-Maritimes, the prefectural bans only target the use of fireworks, firecrackers and other pyrotechnic items by individuals, from Wednesday to Friday. On the side of the Alpes-Maritimes, the prefect however asked the mayors to “systematically seek the opinion” of the firefighters before any fireworks.
In Toulouse, the festivities planned for the national holiday on Thursday will be adapted: the giant concert is delayed by half an hour to 7 p.m. so that it starts in the shade. Gourds and bottles of water will be authorized and foggers installed in the surroundings.
