The area threatened by very high heat continues to grow. Météo-France announced on Friday August 18 the extension of the orange heat wave vigilance from 19 to 28 departments of France from Saturday, on a south-west north-east diagonal.
Minimum temperatures will be “on the rise”, with “no less than 20-23°C in general”, according to the weather forecasting body. And the maximum will reach 34 to 38 ° C in the Jura, Auvergne, the Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and Corsica regions, as well as in the South-West, he adds, stressing that 39°C will be reached in the lower Rhône valley.
“Nineteen of our departments have entered heat wave orange vigilance. This trend is expected to intensify in the coming days,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne warned Friday morning on X (formerly Twitter), calling for vigilance, “at work, on the return trip or on vacation.”
“This weekend, the heat is increasing, especially in the southern half of the country. They promise to be lasting and intense with values ??sometimes above 40°C in the South-East from Sunday “, Météo-France had anticipated in its bulletin issued Friday morning, before the addition of nine new departments in orange vigilance .
heat dome
This new episode of heat “is shaping up to be the hottest of the summer of 2023, also as one of the latest with such a level of intensity”, specifies the organization, which forecasts a continuation of high heat “in least until the middle of next week”.
Due to a vast static anticyclone, a heat dome sets in, trapping warm air under a screed and warming it by compression as the days pass. “There are still a lot of uncertainties about the middle of the week” next, explained Christelle Robert, forecaster at Météo-France, during a point Thursday afternoon, specifying that from next Thursday “a possible disturbance thunderstorm” could “lower temperatures”.
However, it is still too early to know whether we can speak strictly of a heat wave in the country or of a heat wave, terms which have precise definitions and imply high temperatures over several days.
The Prime Minister convened an interministerial crisis unit on Thursday, after which the government decided to activate the national information platform Heatwave info service on Friday, which can be reached at 08-00-06-66-66. Prevention messages will also be broadcast on television and radio.
Reduction of nuclear production
The consequences are multiple. EDF plans to reduce the production of its nuclear power plants in Bugey (Ain) and Tricastin (Drôme), starting on Saturday and Sunday respectively, in order to avoid excessive heating of the waters of the Rhône which cool their reactors.
On the football side, the kick-off of the match of the second day of Ligue 1 between Lyon and Montpellier, initially scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday in Lyon, was postponed to 7 p.m. due to “the heat wave alert in the Rhône department “, announced the Professional Football League. Lyon coach Laurent Blanc was concerned about the health of the players. “TV rights are important” but “it’s still the health of the players that should be decisive,” he said. So it seems to have been heard.
The kick-off of the match of the first day of Top 14 between Lyon and Toulon, which was scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., had been postponed to 6:10 p.m. on Monday, the National Rugby League raising the “temperatures exceptionally high expected”.
