The record heatwave episode of this second part of August could be coming to an end, according to information from Météo-France for this Thursday, August 24. While the day of August 23 was the hottest in recorded history after mid-August, as of tomorrow, Friday, at 6 a.m., the 17 departments still in heat wave red vigilance will see their alert level drop.
The southeastern quarter of France will still be on orange alert, maintained until 9 p.m. In addition, the east of France should continue to be on orange alert for thunderstorms.
The 17 departments that are still in red until Friday morning are Ain, Ardèche, Aveyron, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Lozère, Rhône, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne and Vaucluse.
Red vigilance had been triggered Tuesday noon with four departments, before being extended to 19 departments. in the Alps, with values ??between 34 and 38 to 39 ° C, before a drop also in this area on Saturday”, explained Météo-France in its afternoon bulletin.
France is experiencing an exceptionally late heat wave. Nationwide, this is the first time that such an intense episode has been observed so late in the summer, according to Météo-France. Wednesday was the hottest day on record after August 15 in France, with a national thermal indicator of 27.5°C, breaking records for this time of year set the previous two days. According to still provisional data, it was 42.9 ° C on Thursday in Mirande (Gers) and 41.4 ° C in Lyon-Bron (Rhône).
According to experts, extreme weather phenomena have intensified recently due to global warming, which has caused heat waves and periods of drought that are more frequent, longer and more intense. “It is indisputable that what we are currently experiencing is a phenomenon that is already a marker of climate change,” said Lauriane Batté, climatologist at Météo-France. “The simulations show that we have an increased probability of having heat waves in early and late summer,” she told AFP.
