39 departments in a large southern half of France placed on orange heatwave alert

The episode should move northwards towards the Olympic sites in the Ile-de-France region on Tuesday.

The thermometer is going crazy in the southern half of France. On Monday, July 29, 39 departments are placed on orange heatwave alert due to a heat wave. The 40°C mark could be exceeded in the Midi Toulouse, the hinterland of Gard and Hérault or even New Aquitaine during this first episode of the year, according to Météo-France.

In Bordeaux, where the urban beach of Lac was stormed on Sunday afternoon, the town hall announced “having taken immediate security measures” in this “stone city”. Public parks and swimming pools will open later, 600 isolated elderly people will be contacted “several times a day” by phone for “to know how they are coping with this heatwave” And “The patrols will also be more frequent with distributions of water bottles to allow the homeless to quench their thirst”announced the mayor, Pierre Hurmic. The authorities recommend drinking water several times a day, avoiding going out during the hottest hours of the day, and limiting sports and physical activities.

In Marseille, a city hosting sailing events, Sunday was already marked by intense heat, humidity and little cooling from an almost non-existent wind. Spectators are invited to come with towels and swimsuits, since the reception area of ​​the Olympic marina includes a beach with buoys, games for children and even paddles available.

The athletes, however, had to wait in the full sun for the wind to pick up, like Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin, the French 49er world champions, who stayed on the water for nearly six hours and had to wait an hour and three quarters between two races. “We need to rehydrate, we also have towels with ice cubes. We can try to manage the shade a little with the sails, or a parasol” brought to the trainers’ boat, explained Erwan Fischer.

“Heat waves are an emblematic manifestation of our climate change, they are increasingly intense, frequent, early and long.”

Matthieu Sorel, climatologist at Météo-France

during a press briefing by the institute on Saturday

In the Paris region, where most of the Olympic events take place, “The peak of heat should be on Tuesday, when the maximum temperatures will be around 34-35 degrees”explained Tristan Amm, a forecaster at Météo-France. In this area, “The nights from Tuesday to Wednesday and from Wednesday to Thursday will be quite warm. The mercury will struggle to drop below 20 degrees.”he added.

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