The scorching temperatures will be particularly trying this Sunday in the 49 departments of France placed on orange vigilance by Météo-France, thus exceeding 40°C in the Rhône valley, where a large number of motorists will pass through. vacation. The orange alert concerns 49 departments in total, against 28 departments the day before. Or a large southern half from Bas-Rhin to Gironde, with temperatures “generally reaching 35 to 38°C in the south of the country […] and possibly exceeding 40°C in the lower Rhône valley”, said Météo-France on Saturday afternoon.
A fiftieth department (Charente-Maritime) was placed on orange alert for this Monday by Météo-France. “The heat wave peak is expected between Tuesday and Wednesday”, underlines Météo-France, which specifies that “absolute records” of temperature “risk being beaten, in particular Tuesday towards the Rhône valley, with 40 to 42 degrees expected”.
As a reminder, the departments concerned are: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ariège, Aude, Bouches-du-Rhône, Charente, Cher, Haute-Corse, Dordogne, Gard, Gironde, Hérault, Indre, Landes, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales, Bas-Rhin, Var, Vaucluse and Haute-Vienne, Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Aveyron, Cantal, Corrèze, Côte-d’Or, Doubs, Drôme, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Isère, Jura, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Haut-Rhin, Rhône, Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne and Territory of Belfort. Charente-Maritime therefore joins this long list for the start of the week.
These high temperatures are expected to continue “until the middle of next week, with a peak occurring between Monday and Wednesday depending on the region. Then, a drop in temperatures is expected from Thursday. All of this still to be confirmed.” This episode, the hottest of the summer of 2023, is due to the presence, above the country, of a heat dome. It is “a vast anticyclonic zone at any level of the atmosphere, which traps the already hot air and heats it by compression, a bit like a bicycle pump”, explains Météo-France .
?? 49 departments in Orange and Andorra pic.twitter.com/EmFtlfbhBU
In the direction of returns, Bison Futé classified the day of Sunday red in a large part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and orange in the rest of the country. It is green in the direction of the departures. On Saturday, a peak of 1,056 kilometers of traffic jams was reached shortly after noon, before dropping to 280 kilometers around 6 p.m.
This heat stroke of exceptional intensity for the end of August had led Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to call for caution on Friday, after having convened an interministerial crisis unit the day before. The authorities have since multiplied health prevention messages, especially in large cities. Additional marauders and devices to check in on fragile and isolated people have been put in place.
Municipalities have invited residents to get closer to “places of coolness”: swimming pools, libraries, fountains, parks, air-conditioned museums… announced new water restrictions this week.
Who says heat also says risk of fires: the Estérel and Tanneron massifs in the Alpes-Maritimes were placed on Saturday at fire risk – “very severe” red forest fires, as were several Var massifs. For its part, the EDF group has indicated that it plans to reduce the production of its nuclear power plants in Bugey (Ain) from Sunday, and Golfech, near Agen, from Monday in order to respect the limits of thermal discharges.
