These are the departments of Ain, Loire, Isère, Lozère, Gard, Vaucluse, Hérault, Aveyron, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Aude, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne and Gers. The warning code will be in effect from 12 noon on Wednesday.
Code red was previously announced for Tuesday afternoon in the departments of Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Loire and Rhône.
France is currently experiencing an unusually late heat wave, with temperatures reaching over 42 degrees at times. In some places it hardly cools down at night. In the southern French city of Nice, a minimum temperature of 29.6 degrees was measured in the night from Monday to Tuesday. “If this is confirmed, it would be an absolute record,” says weather forecaster Frédéric Nathan.
Météo-France expects the warning code to be lifted from Friday. Temperatures will then start to drop, although it will still be very warm around the Rhône valley.