“Fifteen new departments go into red vigilance” heat wave Wednesday August 23 at 12 p.m., announced Christine Lac, from Météo-France. The departments concerned are the following: Ain, Loire, Isère, Lozère, Gard, Vaucluse, Hérault, Aveyron, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Aude, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne and Gers. They thus join the Ardèche, the Drôme, the Haute-Loire and the Rhône, already in red since Tuesday noon.
Monday was already the hottest day ever recorded in France after August 15, with temperatures struggling to drop at night, as in Nice, with 29.6 ° C as a minimum. And on Tuesday, the mercury continued to climb. Several temperature records have been broken, such as in Orange (Vaucluse), where it was 42.7°C or in Durban-Corbières (Aude), with its 42.5°C. The thermometer even climbed to 43 ° C in Puy-Saint-Martin (Drôme).
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“The heat wave peak is expected between today (Wednesday) and Thursday”, according to the forecaster, stressing that vigilance in certain departments, “especially in the south of New Aquitaine”, could increase in the face of the duration and the intensity of the heat wave. “Across France, this is the first time that such an intense heat wave has been observed so late in the summer,” adds Météo France.
Aurélien Rousseau, Minister of Health, announced that he had sent an “urgent DGS [Direction Générale de Santé]” to all health professionals. This device “allows health professionals to automatically receive messages warning them of urgent health problems or the reporting of dangerous products”, according to the ministry’s website.
. @Sante_Gouv is sending an “urgent DGS” to all pros this evening. health. I salute their commitment in difficult working conditions. The duration of this episode tests bodies and organizations. It is solidarity between all that will allow us to hold on.
Faced with these exceptional temperatures, the authorities are getting ready to help the population protect themselves as best they can. As in the Rhône, where red vigilance is unprecedented. A “refreshed site” for the homeless has been opened in a gymnasium in central Lyon, “hot weather representing as many risks as extreme cold”, according to Raimon Schmidt, a Red Cross official in Lyon. Another measure for the homeless: the rate of marauding has doubled since Lyon went into orange vigilance in mid-August.
The outings planned by establishments welcoming minors (child protection, leisure reception, holiday stays and scouting) are canceled, specified for its part the Métropole de Lyon, this instruction also concerning nurseries. To encourage people to cool down, several museums will be free from Wednesday in the capital of Gaul, while Marseille extends the free access to municipal swimming pools until Sunday.
In this context of lasting heat, air quality is deteriorating, with ozone concentrations rising over the southern and eastern half of the country, according to the Prév’Air website. Four departments, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Alpes-Maritimes, went into level 2 alert on Wednesday.
According to scientists, repeated heat waves are an unequivocal marker of global warming and these heat waves are expected to multiply, lengthen and intensify.
In Haute-Loire, in the emergency room of Puy-en-Velay, vigilance is also required. “There are more elderly people who have heat-related illnesses but no explosion observed at the entrance to the emergency room. Over two or three days, we can manage the situation, but if it were to continue beyond that, it could be more complicated, “explains Doctor Julien Allirand, head of the department. According to him, there is a shortage of ten FTEs (full-time employment) in the emergency room where patients are currently referred every night to the 15th for lack of doctors.
