5 departments on orange alert
Orange heatwave vigilance has been lifted throughout Île-de-France and nine eastern departments, according to Météo France. Île-de-France as well as the departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Ain, Haute-Savoie, Rhône, Savoie, Isère, Drôme and Ardèche returned to yellow alert this Monday morning at 6:00 a.m.
The Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Alpes-Maritimes, the Var and Corsica, on the other hand, are kept on orange vigilance, indicates Météo France in its latest bulletin.
End of red vigilance
For some, the torrid heat was still there on Sunday: it was 41.1°C in Vidauban (Var), 40.4°C in Le Luc (Var), 38.4°C in Tencin (Isère)… At the national level, the average temperature was 26°C, according to data recorded at 5:00 p.m. by Météo France.
But a large part of France saw a historic heatwave ebb on Sunday, before the end of red vigilance on Monday. Sunday evening at 10 p.m. the two Alsatian departments still in red – compared to 72 at the peak of the heatwave on Thursday – had returned to orange. On Monday, no department will be on red alert, marking the end of the “most intense” heat wave ever measured in the country, according to Météo France.
In Europe, it has already killed more than 1,300 people, according to the World Health Organization. In France, Public Health France has recorded since Wednesday “around 1,000 additional deaths” compared to previous months, an initial toll probably destined to increase.
Sometimes violent storms
For now, the drop in temperatures is accompanied by sometimes violent storms. 19 departments are on orange alert for thunderstorms until 6 a.m. Monday, compared to 23 the day before.
Sunday evening Météo France reported “severe” storms in the Pyrenean foothills, from Aude to the Hautes-Pyrénées, with heavy rain and sometimes hailstones the size of a golf ball (in Quillan in Aude in particular), as well as in Puy-de-Dôme.
As a precaution, festivals had been canceled in Clermont-Ferrand and Marmande, such as the celebration of the victory of the Toulouse rugby team.
In Yvelines, lightning caused a “total or partial interruption of traffic on certain sections” of the Transilien and “the disruptions will unfortunately last several days”, warn SNCF Voyageurs, SNCF Réseau and Île-de-France Mobilités.
Decrease in emergency room visits
Since June 18, emergency interventions have increased by 20% compared to the same period last year, indicated Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
If the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) mentioned “exceptionally high” emergency activity since the end of the week, it noted a drop in emergency visits (– 10%) and calls to Samu (– 9%) compared to the day before, at a level still significantly higher than normal.
“Feedback” at Matignon
On Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will chair a new interministerial crisis unit at the end of the afternoon to take stock and draw “feedback” from the episode, according to Matignon.
Political pressure increased over the weekend on the government, accused of “incompetence” and “inaction”. But the executive defended itself from any unpreparedness.
“Huge” impact on agriculture
Agriculture has also suffered: the minister reported to Les Échos a “huge impact” for the animal sectors, citing “greater mortality and a loss of milk production”, as well as “crop losses, (…) particularly in cereals such as wheat and corn” declared Annie Gennevard, saying that the results will be assessed “at the end of the harvest”.
This heatwave episode, a phenomenon intensified by climate change, mainly caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, “exceeds that of August 2003 in terms of intensity and is equivalent in terms of duration”, indicates Météo France.
