A quarter of France was under surveillance on Thursday for a heatwave with possible peaks of around 40 degrees locally, with temperatures already topping in Spain, which is also suffocating and struggling with multiple fires.
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France has been hit by an unprecedented early heatwave since Tuesday, arriving from the Maghreb via Spain and first affecting the south-west of the country before spreading.
Temperatures between 30 and 35°C were measured across the entire southern half on Wednesday. Météo-France expects readings of 34 to 38 degrees there on Thursday, with possible peaks of up to 39-40 degrees in the shade locally.
And the weather will be scorching across much of the country on Friday, with the heatwave spreading to northern regions and further intensifying in the west and south. On the hottest afternoon, Météo-France forecasts 36 to 39 degrees in these regions, with local peaks of 40 degrees again.
In Toulouse (south) the thermometer did not drop below 20°C during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
Jacqueline Bonnaud, 86, took advantage of the relative freshness of the early hours in a shady park before returning home to keep cool.
“I think it’s the worst heatwave I’ve known,” she said. And “if it’s too hot, it’s better to be at home or in the air-conditioned subway”.
Risks of dehydration
The situation of isolated older people is worrying: “We are even more vigilant than usual with older people,” testifies Sarah Jalabert, home nurse in the south of France. “It’s hard for her. Often they are alone, physically weakened, with a loss of autonomy (…) There is a risk of dehydration”.
A free “Heatwave Information Service” number has been activated by the government.
Mohamed Soudani, caterer at a market in Toulouse, sweats behind his stove. “I keep bottles in the fridge to refresh myself, water is life!” he says.
Cities have taken measures to relieve the population. In Bordeaux (south-west), smoke machines are installed in locations known as “ovens”. And as in Lyon (East), the municipality has extended the opening hours of the parks.
Heat waves attributed to global warming are increasing around the world, particularly in France, where this episode is arriving unprecedentedly early after those of 2017 and 2005, which began June 18.
This wave “aggravates the aridity of the soil after a particularly dry spring and winter” and increases “the risk of forest fires,” explains Olivier Proust, meteorologist at Météo-France, to AFP.
This is the scenario for neighboring Spain, which has been suffocating with temperatures sometimes exceeding 40 degrees for six days.
Ominous Fire
The most worrying fire broke out near Baldomar in the province of Lérida in Catalonia (northeast), where the fire has already destroyed 500 hectares of forest but has “the potential” to spread to 20,000 hectares, according to the regional government.
No one has been evacuated yet, but the authorities have closed some areas as a precaution.
Temperatures of up to 41°C are expected in Lérida on Thursday, according to the Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet), which also predicts temperatures above 40°C in Badajoz (southwest) and Zaragoza (northeast).
In Catalonia, two wildfires were active Thursday morning in Solsonés and Tierra Alta, while another fire broke out in the Sierra de la Culebra in Zamora (centre).
This heat wave, unusual in Spain at this time of year, has led to a temperature explosion across the country since last weekend, with peaks of up to 43 degrees. According to Aemet, it should last until Saturday.
Spain, which experienced the hottest May since the beginning of the century this year, has already experienced four episodes of extreme temperatures in the last ten months, according to the weather agency.
The multiplication of heat waves is a direct consequence of global warming, the scientists explain, while the emission of greenhouse gases increases in intensity, duration and frequency of these phenomena.