Heat wave: the heat is increasing, temperature records expected – Le Monde

Along the Saint-Martin canal, in Paris, on July 13, 2022, some spaces are shaded and there is access to Paris water. BENJAMIN GIRETTE FOR “THE WORLD” The heat is increasing, Monday July 18, at the height of the heat wave which is beating down on France: the map of France has turned crimson over a large part of the Atlantic facade , with 15 departments on red alert for a heat wave and temperature records expected in Brittany. These departments are: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Côtes-d’Armor, Dordogne, Finistère, Gers, Gironde, Ille-et-Vilaine, Landes, Loire-Atlantique, Lot-et-Garonne, Maine-et-Loire, Morbihan, Deux-Sèvres and Vendée. It is recommended that the inhabitants of the areas concerned observe “absolute vigilance” in the face of “dangerous phenomena of exceptional intensity”. Fifty-one departments are also in orange vigilance (which means “be very vigilant”) and the rest of France – with the exception of Corse-du-Sud – is classified yellow (“be attentive”). Météo-France heat wave vigilance map produced on July 18. Temperature records “will fall over the whole” of Brittany No one is safe any longer: the peak of this 45th heat wave recorded in France since 1947 is expected on the west facade, Landes and Gers to Finistère. In Brittany, current temperature records “will fall throughout the region”, said Météo-France. Météo-France expects many new records, such as in Brest where the highest temperature, recorded in July 1949, was exceeded, with 35.8°C at midday. Forecasting engineer Gaétan Heymes warns on Twitter that “40°C is possible until the end of Finistère today [lundi] “. Three hours before the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, the station of Ploudalmezeau beats so… https://t.co/KpuDpVg7wu— GaetanHeymes (@Gaétan Heymes) Monday could be one hottest ever recorded across France. Maximum temperatures will be above 30°C everywhere and between 38 and 40°C in half of the country, from the west to the Rhône valley. The period from June 1 to July 15, i.e. just over the first third of summer, was the hottest ever observed since statistics began in 1947 in Corsica and in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, according to Meteo-France. Read also: View the highest temperatures recorded in 127 Météo-France stations Gironde hit by fires, 14,000 hectares burned One of the effects of intense heat is the multiplication of forest fires. Sunday evening, the fires in Gironde regained ground thanks to swirling winds. They devoured 14,000 hectares of vegetation, the prefecture said Monday morning. It had led to new evacuations in the Landiras sector on Sunday. View of a forest in the town of Landiras, in Gironde, where violent fires are spreading, on July 17, 2022. SOPHIE GARCIA / HANS LUCAS FOR “THE WORLD” According to the firefighters – who are now 1,700 mobilized according to the prefecture – a total of 16,200 vacationers have had to pack their bags urgently since Tuesday. Monday promises to be “one of the most difficult” that firefighters will have to face since the start of the fires, according to firefighters. Read the report: Article reserved for our subscribers Historic fires in Gironde: “This fire is a monster” Some 8,000 people were in the process of “preventive evacuation”, Monday afternoon, in the two districts of La Teste -de-Buch, in the Arcachon basin, announced the prefecture, specifying that “the fire [venait] to skip runway 214,” south of this town of some 26,000 people. “La Teste is not threatened by the flames. On the other hand, the wind is turning, the neighborhoods are really in the process of finding themselves under smoke, ”explained to Agence France-Presse Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse, of the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service. (SDIS) 33. “The fumes are toxic, it is a question of public health to protect the population”, underlined the spokesperson for the fire brigade. In La Teste-de-Buch, “the fire arrived at the sea” and was heading south, the prefecture said on Sunday evening. On amateur videos, you could see the huge blaze devouring the beach of the Lagoon, south of the Dune du Pilat. The Ministry of the Interior announced reinforcements with, as of Sunday evening, “three additional planes” to support the six bombers already engaged, as well as “200 additional firefighters (…) with 11 heavy trucks”. In the middle of the harvest, crop fires broke out as far as northern France, where they affected several hectares in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais. This scorching wave will flow back very quickly on the west facade, pushed east by sustained winds. Heatwave red vigilance should be lifted from 6 a.m. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, “the high temperatures will only concern the south-eastern quarter with nights still very hot”, according to Météo-France. As a corollary to this heat wave, car traffic and industrial activities, ozone pollution will occur, particularly “in Ile-de-France, Normandy, Hauts-de-France, Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur”, according to Prév’air. “Extreme risk of fire” in Spain; alert for “extreme heat” expected in the United Kingdom A firefighter in the Losacio region, in northwestern Spain, on July 17, 2022. EMILIO FRAILE / AP This heat wave affects the whole of Europe West, also causing forest fires in Spain or Portugal. On Monday, almost all of Spain remained on “extreme risk” fire alert, the highest level. The country, which has been suffocating since July 10 with highs well above 40°C and falling little at night, should experience a very short respite at the start of the week. “Climate change kills people (…) but also our ecosystem, our biodiversity”, reacted the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, on Monday. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Spain, thousands of hectares of forest destroyed by fire In the United Kingdom, the national meteorological agency issued the very first alert “red for extreme heat” in the history of the country , corresponding to a national emergency, warning of the risks that heat poses even to young and/or healthy people. “Hotter than the Sahara”, headlines the tabloid The Sun on Monday. The British forecaster’s “extreme heat” red alert corresponds to “a risk to life”. The hottest temperatures are expected for Tuesday and could exceed the 40°C threshold, a first in the country. The British record dates back to July 25, 2019, with 38.7 ° C recorded in Cambridge, in the east of England. Schools in some counties will remain closed, while major transportation disruptions are expected. Several railway companies have called on the population not to travel on Monday and Tuesday, the British rail network not being designed for such heat. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers England fears a historic heat wave The government was accused on Sunday of neglecting this situation, after resigning Prime Minister Boris Johnson missed a crisis meeting on the subject in Downing Street. The World with AFP