Heightened heatwave warning issued in south of France
Overnight temperatures remain at 26C in some parts
Daytime temperatures remain high, but are not dropping significantly overnight, leading to the warnings
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At least one French department will face a tier-three orange alert for heatwave conditions today (August 6), as overnight temperatures in the south remain high.
The Pyrénées-Orientales department will see the heightened warnings come into force from midday, and last until at least Thursday (August 8) morning.
During last week’s heatwave, the Pyrénées-Orientales did not face heightened warnings, which affected more than 40 departments across mostly the south and centre of France.
A handful of southern departments, mostly those bordering the Mediterranean, continue to face less severe tier-two warnings for heatwave conditions, but these may increase if daytime temperatures climb.
Outside of the Mediterranean arc, there are no weather warnings in place across France today, although some storms may appear along the western coast.
Read more: Weather in France August 5 – August 9: Forecast by area this week
High overnight temperatures cause warnings to rise
The exact warnings coming into force are for a canicule, which is based on both daytime and overnight temperatures remaining higher than a set average for a period of at least three days.
In comparison, a vague de chaleur heatwave warning is based only on daytime temperatures, and usually concerns the majority of the country (or a region) facing high heats.
Read more: What are the different heatwave warnings in France?
Overnight temperatures in the Pyrénées-Orientales have remained excessive, with temperatures in the department at 05:00 today reaching 24C in the main city Perpignan and 26C in Vives.
In addition, temperatures today may reach up to 37C in the department, meaning both conditions for increasing canicule warnings have been met.
Elsewhere, departments facing less severe heatwave warnings are recording similarly high overnight temperatures – 25C in Sète, 25.2C in Nice, and 25.6C in Corsica were all recorded at 05:00 today – but daytime temperatures will mostly remain within summer averages in these areas.
Conversely, some inland areas of Provence that are set to see temperatures of up to 37C (around Gap), will see this drop by around 20C overnight, allowing buildings and people to cool down.
The temperature of the Mediterranean sea around Nice was recorded at 30C, significantly higher than the summer average, around 23C.
