France braces for 40°C heatwave peak as 53 departments placed on orange alert

Heatwave envelops large parts of France

A wave of intense heat that began on 17 June is tightening its grip on the country, with Météo-France issuing orange heatwave alerts for 53 departments on Friday 19 June. That is double the 26 departments placed on alert a day earlier. The affected zone runs from the southwest to the northeast, passing through the Paris region. Temperatures on 18 June reached 35.3 °C in Paris and 37.7 °C in La Ferté-Hauterive (Allier), while up to 39 °C was recorded north of the Massif Central.

“Up to 39 °C can be recorded north of the Massif Central.”

A peak of 40 °C expected on Sunday and Monday

Forecasters say the heat will intensify further, with Sunday 21 June and Monday 22 June set to be the hottest days of the episode. Météo-France warns that 40 °C could be reached in several regions from the west to the Rhône valley, and possibly in Île-de-France. The heatwave is predicted to last at least nine to ten days, according to Némo Pawlowski, a forecaster at the national weather service. After a slight easing in the north and northwest on Saturday, temperatures will climb again on Sunday, aided by the summer solstice, which brings the longest daylight hours of the year.

Transport disrupted and schools adapt

The extreme heat has already disrupted daily life. The national railway operator SNCF cancelled 71 Intercités trains scheduled to run between Thursday and Monday to prevent potential air-conditioning breakdowns. Affected lines include Paris–Toulouse, Paris–Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux–Marseille. Several schools announced that afternoon classes would be suspended from Thursday because of overheating classrooms as pupils sat written baccalaureate exams.

“Je me suis dépêché de faire mes courses ce matin, ça tape fort. C’était déjà pénible le mois dernier et ça va être pire. À mon âge, je vais pas prendre le bus pour aller à la piscine.”

Nights offer little relief

Night-time temperatures are not dropping below 20 °C in many areas, a threshold that defines a “tropical night” according to Météo-France. The night of 17–18 June saw the thermometer stay at 23.8 °C at Mont-Saint-Vincent in Saône-et-Loire, a record for June at that station. The government has emphasised that frequent tropical nights undermine sleep and recovery, increasing the health risk with each successive hot night.

A pattern reinforced by climate change

Météo-France climatologist Matthieu Sorel noted that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more numerous and more intense, a clear sign of climate change. Since records began in 1947, half of France’s 52 official heatwaves have occurred after 2010, 26 heatwaves in just 15 years, compared with the same number in the preceding 60 years. Two heatwaves swept the country in 2025, and this is the first of 2026, following an unusually hot May.

“Des vagues de chaleur de plus en plus fréquentes, de plus en plus nombreuses et de plus en plus intenses, signe manifeste du changement climatique.”