Only Alsace remains in red
France is returning to more breathable temperatures after 11 days of historic heatwave and major storms. Red vigilance only concerns Haut and Bas-Rhin, with lifting planned for 10:00 p.m. At the peak of the episode, Thursday, 72 departments were at the maximum alert level.
“The warmer air will gradually shift towards the east of the country”, replaced by “cooler air” which “starts to gain from the west and north-west,” explains Météo France. On Monday, the western half of the country must return to green heatwave vigilance, according to Météo France. Île-de-France, Alsace, ten departments in the East/South-East and Corsica are still on orange alert.
“A higher number of deaths”, assures the Minister of Health
Due to the heatwave, “we are observing a higher than normal number of deaths,” said Health Minister Stéphanie Rist in an interview with La Tribune on Saturday.
“The extreme heat of recent days has a delayed effect, particularly in fragile people but also in some younger people, who sometimes arrive at the emergency room five to ten days after the heatwave,” she explained. “We have signals which show that there will very likely be higher mortality than at the same period last year.”
