The extreme heat never ends. The heatwave continues to gain ground on Wednesday August 12, spreading to almost all of France, while the government tries to find solutions to the dramatic drought which is hitting the country.
No less than 78 departments of the metropolis, from the south to the west via Normandy, Île-de-France and up to the Vosges, will be placed on heatwave orange vigilance from 12 p.m.
“On Wednesday, the heat increases further and the heatwave conditions gain further ground: the maximums are around 36°C to 39°C in the departments placed on orange vigilance,” indicates the forecaster in his 6 a.m. bulletin. Only a portion of the northeast and a few high altitude areas will be spared.
Thursday, the day will also be very hot with maximum temperatures above 35°C: “from Centre-Val de Loire to Nouvelle-Aquitaine, (temperatures) will be between 38 and 40°C. In Île-de-France, they will be close to 38°C”, specifies Météo-France.
The sky will be mostly clear, offering perfect conditions for observing the first total solar eclipse visible in Europe since 1999. But, in addition to protective glasses, you will need to bring caps and water bottles.
In the evening, when the sun will be momentarily completely obscured by the moon, the thermometer should still display “very high values in many regions, particularly in the west, often between 30 and 35°C, between 25 and 28°C along the Channel,” indicates the national forecaster.
No respite before the weekend
This heatwave episode is the continuation and amplification of a heat wave that began on July 28, which initially mainly affected the south of the country.
This heat wave is the third of the summer, after the exceptionally intense one at the end of June and that from July 4 to 19, among the longest that the country has experienced. Before that, an early heatwave episode also took place at the end of May.
In the context of global warming linked to human activities, these periods of high heat are more frequent, intense and extended over the year. Respite is not expected before the weekend.
Another consequence of the overheating thermometer and the lack of rain, the drought in France has continued to worsen since May. As of August 6, soil drought remains at record levels nationally and widespread throughout the territory, indicates Météo-France.
The situation of small rivers is “the most critical ever recorded at this time” of the year, according to the French Biodiversity Office (OFB).
On Tuesday, restrictive measures on drinking water affected the places of residence of 62 million people, or 94% of the metropolitan population, according to AFP calculations based on data from VigiEau. At the beginning of August, almost two thirds of the groundwater tables, the main water reserves, had levels below normal.
Faced with this crisis, the Ministry of Ecological Transition is bringing together the Hydrological Anticipation and Monitoring Committee (CASH) and the regional prefectures on Wednesday. On the menu: an inventory of drought and its consequences on agriculture and biodiversity, as well as a sharing of feedback on measures to strengthen the anticipation and resilience of territories in the face of tensions around water.
With AFP
