While the mercury could reach between 38 and 40°C on Friday, or even more than 40°C locally, the 23 departments concerned extend over almost the entire Atlantic seaboard, from Pyrénées-Atlantiques to Loire-Atlantique, but also towards the center of the country, as far as Ardèche and Drôme.
A “more pessimistic scenario”
Météo-France had estimated on Tuesday that only a few departments could be placed in orange vigilance, but “this has been revised upwards, we started on a more pessimistic scenario which induces warmer temperatures than what we expected yesterday”, said said Tristan Amm, forecaster at Météo-France.
Thus, the temperatures expected on Friday of 38 to 40°C, locally more than 40°C, will be “more frequent as far as Poitou-Charentes and not only in a small south-west quarter”, he noted.
Saturday heat peak
And Saturday will also be warmer than previous forecasts predicted. “Saturday promises to be the peak of the heat wave, with 35 to 39°C fairly generalized over a good part of the territory, from the Garonne to the northeast via the Rhône valley, the region Parisian region, the Center Val-de-Loire”, insisted the forecaster, also noting that high temperatures (over 35°C) are expected to persist until Sunday in the south and east of the country.
“Extension of the heat wave orange vigilance to follow tomorrow”, warned Météo-France on Twitter.