Schools close, nuclear reactor shuts down and pollution peaks as France's heatwave drags on
On Monday afternoon, Météo-France, the French national meteorological service, prepared the country by placing 16 departments on red alert, the highest surveillance level set in consultation with the public health agency Santé Publique France and the Directorate General for Health. All departments in the Paris region were included, along with parts of the Centre-Val de Loire and Grand-Est regions. Another 68 departments remain on orange alert. Only five departments in the northwest, benefiting from maritime air, escaped the extreme heat.
Today, 88% of mainland France's population is living in departments under close watch. "This is unprecedented in terms of area covered," said Minister for Green Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher, noting that "only" 81 departments were placed on orange alert on July 23, 2019. "This heatwave is remarkable for how early it began and how long it is lasting, probably about 15 days," analyzed Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Météo-France, recalling that the 1976 heatwave, the longest in recorded history, lasted 14 days. "But we are currently experiencing much higher temperatures. Global warming has taken its toll," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
June heatwave pushes Europe into record-breaking territory
As Europe bakes in its first major heatwave of the year, temperature records are being broken across the continent. During June, countries experienced temperatures more typical of July and August, with records broken from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean. The Portuguese weather service (IPMA) reported 46.6 °C in Mora on 29 June - the hottest ever recorded in mainland Portugal during June. Norway's Banak station reached 32.5°C, the highest temperature ever recorded within the European Arctic for the month. The extreme heat has brought health warnings, school closures and restrictions on outdoor work. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) has said that for the continent as a whole, this month is likely to rank among the top five warmest Junes on record. How long will Europe's heatwave last? Scientists have said that this extended period of above-average temperatures is being caused by a heat dome. This is when a high-pressure area stays over the same place for days or even weeks, trapping the hot air below it. This acts something like a saucepan lid, causing temperatures to become hotter and hotter. Last week, a strong area of high pressure built over Western Europe. It extended up across Spain and Portugal into France, then spread to Germany and Italy over the weekend. After days of record-breaking heat, forecasters say there will be some relief on Wednesday into Thursday as thunderstorms and cooler temperatures arrive from the Atlantic, according to Météo-France. Spain and Italy may have to wait until the weekend to see temperatures begin to drop. France sees its second-hottest June since 1900 In France, temperatures of 40°C were recorded in Paris on Tuesday. The country's national weather agency placed several regions under the highest red alert. More than 1,300 schools were fully or partially closed across the country, and the summit of the Eiffel Tower has been closed to visitors until Thursday because of the heat. "June 2025 has become the second hottest June since records began in 1900, behind June 2003," French Ecology Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday morning. 30 June was the hottest day since measurements began in 1947, according to Météo-France. Later, Pannier-Runacher added that more than 300 people have been taken into emergency care, and two had died as a result of heat-related illnesses. June 'pulverised' heat records in Spain Spanish weather service Aemet said that an 'extremely hot' June had 'pulverised records', surpassing the normal averages for July and August. It recorded an average of 23.6°C - the highest for the month in 64 years and 0.8°C higher than the previous record set in 2017. Provisional data shows that nine days in June broke records for their respective dates. Aemet says that in an 'undisturbed climate', five record warm days would be expected in an entire year. Ramón Pascual, a delegate for Spain's weather service in Barcelona, told The Associated Press the "very intense heat wave' is clearly linked to global warming. High sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean are not helping either, as they reduce any cooling effects a nearby body of water might have. Millions of Europeans are being exposed to high heat stress The June-July heatwave is exposing millions of Europeans to high heat stress, according to Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the ECMWF. 'And our reanalysis data shows that many Europeans have experienced very high temperatures for the period since the start of June,' she adds. 'The temperatures observed recently are more typical of the months of July and August and tend to only happen a few times each summer. We saw it again in 2024, the warmest year on record.' Burgess also says climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and more intense, and they are now impacting larger geographical areas. Hot spells like this could become more frequent in the UK The UK experienced its hottest day of the year so far on Tuesday with a recorded temperature of 34.7°C in London's St James's Park. Provisional data from the Met Office indicates that the country experienced its second warmest June since 1884. The average temperature for the month reached 15.2°C, only surpassed by June 2023, which saw average temperatures of 15.8°C. It follows a record-breaking spring that was officially the warmest and sunniest on record. June continued that trend, the Met Office said, marked by two heatwaves and high temperatures at the end of the month. 'While we've not conducted formal climate attribution studies into June 2025's two heatwaves, past studies have shown it is virtually certain that human influence has increased the occurrence and intensity of extreme heat events such as this,' says Met Office climate scientist Dr Amy Doherty. Doherty adds that numerous climate attribution studies have shown that human influence increased the chance of specific heatwaves occurring, including those in summer 2018 and July 2022. "Our Met Office climate projections indicate that hot spells will become more frequent in our future climate, particularly over the southeast of the UK. Temperatures are projected to rise in all seasons, but the heat would be most intense in summer."
Local France
5 hours ago
- Local France
Red weather warnings lifted as French heatwave reaches peak
Central France and the greater Paris region have been under a rare red level heatwave alert - signifying a danger to life - as soaring temperatures gripped Europe. However the French forecaster Météo France expects the heatwave to peak on Wednesday, lifting weather warnings for some parts of the country. Just four départements - Aube, Cher, Loiret and Yonne - remain on red alert on Wednesday, while the Paris region drops back down to an orange level alert. Météo France's map of heatwave warnings Warnings have been lifted from the west and south-west of France, with the heat gradually moving off to the east. Advertisement By Thursday temperatures are expected to have dropped back to seasonal norms, with alerts lifted across the whole of northern France. Environment minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said that at least two deaths have been linked to extreme temperatures in recent days, while 300 people have received emergency treatment for heat-related health problems. Full figures on excess deaths will not be available until later in the summer. Tuesday saw extremely high temperatures across the country - 41.3C in Nîmes, 39.3C inToulouse, 40C in Le Vigeant, Vienne and 41.2C in Châteaumeillant, Cher - although none of the records set in the 2019 heatwave were toppled. Paris saw a sizzling night with temperatures still at 36C by 10pm. Screenshot of the 10pm temperature in Paris and surrounding region. Meteo France Across the country schools closed and local authorities activated emergency heatwave plans. The Golfe nuclear reactor in south-west France was shut down because the neighbouring River Garonne was too hot to cool the reactor - it is not expected to start up again until Sunday - while two other nuclear reactors reduced their capacity because of the heat.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Cooler temperatures coming to Europe after scorching heatwave
After days of record-breaking heatwaves across Europe, relief will start to arrive from the Atlantic on Wednesday, bringing thunderstorms and cooler temperatures to parts of western Europe. Paris hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, but the high will drop to 35C on Wednesday and to 28C on Thursday, Météo-France forecast. "Our latest forecasts confirm the arrival of cooling from the west on Wednesday, which will quickly affect the northwest of the country," Météo-France said, adding that there could be heavy thunderstorms late Wednesday and Thursday in the east along the German border. Germany 's national weather service is forecasting a peak of 40C on Wednesday in the economic capital Frankfurt, but that will plummet to 27C by Thursday. Spain and Italy, meanwhile, may have to wait for the weekend to see some limited relief. On Tuesday, around 2,200 schools were shut in France because of the heat, but only about 135 are expected to be kept closed Wednesday, the education ministry said. Météo-France said June 30 was the hottest June day since measurements began in 1947, beating out a record set in 2019. Similar records were set Tuesday in Portugal and the Netherlands. "For the continent as a whole, the month is likely to be ranked among the top 5 warmest Junes on record," said the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. On Sunday, in a case of two extremes, the Mediterranean Sea hit a record-high temperature for June while Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe, went above freezing, a rarity for this time of year. In Turkey, forest fires that broke out over the weekend around Izmir in the west and Hatay in the south were largely brought under control, authorities said Tuesday evening, though they warned about continued risks from dry, hot winds. 'Silent killer' Tens of thousands of people have died in Europe during past heatwaves, prompting authorities to issue warnings for old and young, the sick, and others vulnerable to what experts call a "silent killer". On Tuesday, police in Spain said a two-year-old died in the country's northeast after being left in a car in the sun for several hours. "Due to climate change caused by humans, extreme heat is becoming more frequent and intense. This is something we must learn to live with," said Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency based in Geneva. Extreme heat can cause dehydration, muscle cramps, headaches and nausea. The most serious risk is heatstroke, which can lead to death, especially in vulnerable people. Free guided tours of air-conditioned museums in Venice and free access to swimming pools in Rome were offered to protect seniors. According to a report by Allianz Trade on Tuesday, the European economy could lose 0.5 percentage points of growth this year due to recent heatwaves. The health impact will take longer to assess. According to France's Ministry of Health, an initial estimate of excess mortality during the period will be available approximately two weeks after the end of the heatwave, but detailed data based on medical data will not be available until the fall.
