Since Monday August 21, 2023, France has been experiencing an extreme heat wave. Tuesday August 22 was the hottest day ever measured after an August 15reports Meteo Francewith a national thermal indicator [moyenne quotidienne de la température de l’air relevée dans trente stations météorologiques représentatives du territoire] 26.9°C. So much so that the meteorological service placed 19 departments on red alert on Wednesday August 23, 2023, a day during which heat records have been broken in some places in France: in Toulouse, it was measured up to 42.4 ° C while Carcassonne suffered 43.2 ° C. Overall, a large number of highs between 39 and 43°C were recorded by Météo France. Thursday August 24, 2023, 17 departments are still placed in heatwave red alertwarns Meteo France : Ain, Ardèche, Aveyron, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Lozère, Rhône, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne and Vaucluse. A rare situation for a late summer.
Heat storms expected in 25 departments
The Hérault and the Aude having gone back down to orange vigilance on Thursday August 24, 2023, like 37 other departments, the morning temperatures are still extremely high almost everywhere in France. According to the public establishment, at 5 a.m., Toulouse was already showing 29°C, 27°C in La Rochelle and Cognac, 30°C in Castres-Mazamet and 25°C in Carcassonne. Indeed, it is on the southern half of the country that the heat is most violent: “a lasting and intense heat wave has settled over the southern two-thirds of the country. It is remarkable, even exceptional. in the Rhône valley and in the south of the Massif Central, in Occitanie and as far as the east of Aquitaine” reports Meteo France. Result : “Thunderstorms will break out in the hot air”. Indeed, 25 departments in the northern half of the country are affected by a risk of thunderstorms from Thursday August 24, 2023. This can be expected in Pays de la Loire to Normandy, and from Île-de- France in Hauts-de-France.