France issues red heat alert as temperatures threaten records
Meteo France put 54 departments on red alert as an early-summer heat wave strains schools, transport and public health systems.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
France is under its highest heat warning across much of the country as forecasters expect extreme temperatures to continue through at least the end of the week. The alert matters because most residents are being exposed to dangerous heat in a country where air conditioning is not common, according to the Associated Press.
Meteo France, the national weather service, placed 54 departments under red heat wave alert on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. The agency said heat would stay severe during both day and night, leaving little relief after sunset.
Many towns are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Meteo France. In Rennes, a drugstore sign showed 43 degrees Celsius, or 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit, on Monday, according to an Associated Press photo caption.
Meteo France said sunshine was keeping intense heat in place across the country. The agency also warned that more records could fall, including temperatures that may top any previous readings for any season.
Schools, trains and sports affected
The heat has disrupted schools, rail travel and sporting events, the Associated Press reported. Since the weekend, about 20 drowning deaths have also been reported as people seek relief from the heat, according to the AP.
The heat wave arrived very early in the summer and is unusually intense, Meteo France said. The agency said its duration remained uncertain, though extreme conditions were expected to persist at least until the end of the week.
The current episode has drawn comparisons with France’s August 2003 heat wave, the Associated Press reported. That disaster caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many among older people living in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning, according to the AP.
France created a heat warning system after the 2003 event, the Associated Press reported. The current red alert is the highest level in that system.
Europe’s heat risk is rising
Human-caused climate change is linked to more extreme weather, the Associated Press reported. The United Nations climate agency has projected that the next five years are likely to break additional heat records, according to the AP.
Europe has warmed faster than any other continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Copernicus also found that 2024 was the hottest year on record globally and in Europe, and that Europe had its second-highest number of heat stress days.
The World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month that more than 200,000 people in Europe died from heat-related causes over the past four years, the Associated Press reported. The WHO office said most of those deaths could have been prevented.
High temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be fatal, according to the WHO’s Europe office. Scientists warn that climate change is increasing the frequency and strength of heat and dry spells, especially in southeastern Europe, raising risks to health and worsening wildfire danger, the Associated Press reported.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.