twelve departments placed in red vigilance, from Vendée to Tarn

“Hydrate, stay cool, give and hear from loved ones.” The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, revealed, Thursday June 16, at the beginning of the afternoon, that “12 departments” had just been “placed on heat wave red alert”, without however detailing the name. Météo France then formalized the list of territories concerned: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, Gironde, Landes, Tarn, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée and Vienne. This vigilance must come into effect on Friday, at the beginning of the afternoon.

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This is the fourth time that a red alert has been triggered due to a heat wave. The first three ran from June 27-29, 2019, July 24-26, 2019, and August 7-12, 2020.

Lhe red alertness level, which corresponds to maximum alertness, is activated in the event of a heatwave episode of intensity “exceptional” and given the significant health impact expected from this heat wave. “Red vigilance is not done exclusively on temperature parameters, we also need ‘field feedback’ to know if there are already consequences (in particular the congestion of hospitals)”, explained in June 2019, during a chat on franceinfo, forecaster Sébastien Léas.