France is experiencing a new wave of intense heat in just over two months, with thermometers being able to register 40°C in some regions of the country from this Wednesday (10). The episode coincides with a series of forest fires and water shortages in some cities, but also with another alert from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) about record temperatures in the world.
Météo-France, the French meteorological agency, warned the population about the risks of this heat wave on the population’s health. Authorities urge people to avoid leaving their homes during the hottest hours of the day, which in some regions means hiding from the heat between 11 am and 9 pm.
The high temperatures that began to be recorded at the end of July — for the third period during this summer in the Northern Hemisphere — were concentrated in the regions close to the Mediterranean Sea, although the thermometers have reached 40°C in the capital, Paris.
Now, Météo-France warns that the situation will be more difficult in the southwest and on the Atlantic coast in the west of the country. Currently, 16 French regions are under the so-called “orange alert”, the penultimate level before the red alert, of maximum vigilance.
According to Christine Lac, a spokeswoman for the agency, this heat wave is expected to continue at least until Saturday in the south and much of the west of the country, before gradually advancing to the northwest and north. The heat cycle should be broken from Sunday (14), with rains forecast throughout the region.
droughts and fires
The heat wave has also contributed to a severe drought in European countries. The low level of water reservoirs in some parts of French territory worries the authorities, who have implemented measures to restrict consumption in 93 of the 96 regions of the country. More than 100 municipalities are already without drinking water and depend on water supply by water trucks.
Weather conditions also lead to a greater occurrence of fires, reliving traumas from past seasons. In France, this Wednesday, two of them continue to destroy green zones in at least two regions.
A forest in Maine and Loire, in the west of the country, has already had 1,200 hectares destroyed by fire, despite the action of 400 firefighters. Already the Gironde, in the southwest, hit by a gigantic fire in July, registers a new outbreak that forced thousands of people to leave their homes. Since the beginning of the year, more than 50,000 hectares have caught fire in France.
world records
July 2022 was the second warmest month on record in France — only after 1961 — and the summer of 2022 set a record for the number of days of extreme heat (more than 30). But this is not a French peculiarity.
Last month was one of the hottest Julys ever recorded in the world, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized UN agency based in Geneva, said on Tuesday.
In general, the temperature recorded in the last month exceeded that recorded in July during the reference period 1991-2020 by 0.4°C. This is despite the presence of the natural phenomenon La Niña, which, according to the WMO, “is supposed to have a cooling effect”.
Last month, the body urged world leaders to “wake up” to heat waves like the one facing Europe today, which are expected to be more frequent due to climate change at least until the year 2060.
