Several absolute temperature records were broken in the south of France on Tuesday, as France was hit by a historic heat wave.
The thermometer keeps rising. France, like other countries in the northern hemisphere, is affected by a new heat wave. Absolute heat records were recorded on Tuesday July 18 and then Wednesday July 19 in the south of the country, the Alps, the Pyrenees and in Corsica, announced Météo-France. Thursday should be hot again, with weather services predicting temperatures above 35°C in part of the country, with peaks of 40°C in the Var. Extreme heat boosted by global warming.
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The south of the country is particularly affected. The thermometer exceeded the 40°C mark on Tuesday in Verdun (Ariège) where it was 40.6°C, in Serralongue (Pyrénées-Orientales), with 40.4°C, in Tiranges (Haute-Loire), with 40.6°C, and in Puget-Théniers (Alpes-Maritimes), with 41.8°C. On Wednesday, two new absolute records were broken in the Alpes-Maritimes, in Cannes (39.1°C) and Mandelieu-la-Napoule (39.4°C). In Verdun and Serralongue, two towns located more than 500 meters above sea level in the Pyrenean valleys, the records were fueled by “a foehn effect”, explains Météo-France. It occurs when an air mass suddenly heats up after crossing a mountain range.
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Mountain records
We are suffocating even at altitude and absolute records were also broken on Tuesday in several mountain resorts: in L’Alpe d’Huez (Isère), at 1,860 meters above sea level, with 29.5 ° C, in Avrieux (Savoie), at 1,104 meters above sea level, where 36 ° C were recorded, and in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville (Savoie), with 32.4 ° C at 1,500 meters altitude.
In Corse-du-Sud, it was 38.3°C in Renno on Tuesday, an absolute record for a maximum temperature in this weather station. In all these municipalities, these records are 8°C to 11.9°C higher than normal for the season, according to the meteorological institute.
Other absolute records to recontextualize
Several cities recorded absolute records, but Météo-France takes their data with caution, based on two criteria. The institute believes that the data provided by weather stations that are at least 30 years old provide more perspective. More recent stations have nevertheless measured absolute records, even if they are not on the franceinfo map because they started their surveys less than 30 years ago. This is the case in the Tech-La Llau stations (Pyrénées-Orientales, opened in 2006), with 38.1°C recorded, Belcaire (Aude, moved in 2009), where it was 36.4°C, and Chamrousse (Isère, opened in 2002), with 28.6°C.
In addition, Météo-France considers that the measurements of certain weather stations, which are less well rated according to the criteria of the World Meteorological Organization, may show deviations of one degree Celsius from the actual temperature. This is the case, for example, of the Castirla station (Haute-Corse), ranked 5 (the lowest score on a scale of 1 to 5), where an absolute record of 42.8°C was recorded on Tuesday.
Nine departments on orange alert
The south-east of France has been affected since Monday by a heat wave which crosses the west of the Mediterranean basin and also hits Spain, Greece and Italy hard. Nine departments are still placed in orange vigilance on Thursday: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse, Gard, Hérault, Var and Vaucluse. An orange alert, synonymous with a “high fire danger”was triggered for forest fires in Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse, for Thursday and Friday.
Monthly temperature records were notably beaten on Tuesday in Aups (Var), with 38.6°C, in Sampolo (Corse-du-Sud), with 38.1°C, and in Vauvenargues (Bouches-du-Rhône), where the mercury posted 37.3°C, and Wednesday in Montpellier (Hérault), with 37.6°C, a peak for the month of July.