News today from Météo-France: 42.3 °C were recorded on 12 July at Pissos in Landes, while very high temperatures and hot nights are set to continue. The most exposed areas are in the west on Sunday, where 40 °C could be reached locally.
The forecast points to a heatwave that does not ease at once. Temperatures are expected to remain above 35 °C across a large part of the country on Sunday, and the night from Saturday 11 July to Sunday 12 July was already very hot, especially between the mouth of the Loire and southern Brittany.
Pissos in Landes
At Pissos, the thermometer reached 42.3 °C on 12 July. Météo-France also said temperatures reached or exceeded 40 °C in Nouvelle-Aquitaine on Sunday, a level that places the day among the strongest heat peaks of the episode.
The same pattern is expected to keep spreading across large areas rather than staying fixed in one place. On Monday 13 July, temperatures are due to fall in the western half of the country, and some coastal parts of southern Brittany and Pays de Loire could locally drop below 30 °C.
Sunday in the west
That easing in the west does not end the event. Météo-France says 40 °C are still expected locally on Monday in Centre-Val de Loire, Bourgogne, northern Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes, while Tuesday 14 July should keep temperatures very high over most of the country.
On Tuesday, more than 35 °C may still affect Midi toulousain, Centre, Bourgogne and the Paris region, with 40 °C also possible from the Var hinterland to the Rhône valley and the Lyon area. The heatwave is expected to last at least until midweek as the hottest air shifts east.
Dry soils and fire danger
Météo-France links the heat and dry soils to an exceptional danger of forest fires across the entire territory. Very strong thunderstorms may also occur locally, adding a separate risk on top of the heat itself. Minimum temperatures are another pressure point: they should stay above 20 °C elsewhere, and could be close to 24 to 25 °C in the Centre, east of the country, Île-de-France and the Lyon area.
For anyone in the western half, Monday offers the first drop in daytime heat, but not a full return to normal. For those farther east, the harder stretch is still ahead, with hot nights and daytime temperatures staying high into Tuesday and beyond.
