Will France's heatwave last until Sunday as predicted?

There is no sign of France’s exceptional September heatwave cooling down as parts of the north and west again faced a ‘tropical night’ of heat.

Tuesday (September 5) saw a number of heat records broken, as temperatures across almost the entire country reached 30C or more.

Record September temperatures were broken in a number of towns, as far east as Annecy, where the mercury peaked at 31.5C. One of France’s coldest towns in France, situated in the Haute-Marne department, also broke its September heat record.

Slightly up from yesterday, there are now 44 departments, largely across the north, west, and centre of France on tier-two yellow warnings for heatwave conditions.

Temperatures are once again set to reach 30C across France, with highs of 36C in the west and centre of France.

Forecasters are not budging from their prediction that the heatwave will last until at least the end of the week, even as parts of France start to see rain from today.

‘Tropical night’ in Paris

For a second night in a row, temperatures across much of France remained high overnight, preventing homes – and people – from cooling down.

Read more: How to keep your house cool in the high heat of the French summer

In Paris, temperatures of 25C were recorded at 02:00, leading many to cite it as a ‘tropical night’ in the capital.

Elsewhere, temperatures remained around 20C overnight in places affected by the heatwave – in many northern departments such as those in Normandy, the heat is exacerbated by the structure of houses.

In the south of France, houses are built to stay cool due to the extended warm periods, but in the north, homes were traditionally built to retain heat, as temperatures so high are relatively uncommon.

When overnight temperatures remain high outside, there is no way to let heat out of buildings.

Read more: Heatwaves: France’s housing minister backs grants to help cool homes

Heatwave warnings continue

As of Wednesday (September 6) morning, 44 departments are facing tier-two heatwave warnings.

This includes Paris and the surrounding departments, the west of France, and through the centre of the country.

In the south west, the Dordogne and Lot departments are also facing warnings.

For now, all cautions have remained at a tier-two yellow level, but if the heatwave continues to keep temperatures as they are, this could rise.

You can keep track of official warnings using the official Météo France website.

Records broken, heat remains

Another batch of records were broken across France yesterday as towns recorded their highest ever September temperatures – beating out those recorded in the exceptionally warm September of 2020.

Alongside Annecy, September heat records were also broken in Charente (34.6C), Nevers (35.5C), and Châlon-sur-Saône (34.3C).

Another town that saw its record broken was Langres in the Haute-Marne department.

Known as France’s ‘coldest town’, the mercury peaked at 33C yesterday, beating its previous September record by 0.5C.

Much of the same is expected across France today, with most of the country recording temperatures of 30C or more, and those in the west and centre possibly seeing 36C.

Although some patches of cloud and rain will be present on the western and northern coasts, with Météo France reporting that thundery conditions could be present in Brittany, no weather warnings are in place – and it is not expected to cool temperatures.

In Paris, Limoges, and Nantes, it could reach 34C, and as far north as Lille highs of 32C could be recorded this afternoon.

This trend is expected to continue until Sunday, with little change in temperatures across France.

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