Not only here, but also in France, the mercury is rising to record highs exceptionally early, and that is taking a heavy toll. In our southern neighbors, the extreme heat has already killed seven people, including at least five swimmers who drowned. Meanwhile, all of Western Europe is suffering from high temperatures and heat records are also being broken in the United Kingdom.
Journalist at HLN
Source: TF1, Le Monde, The Guardian, Belga
According to meteorologists from the French weather service, this is an “exceptional, historic, unprecedented event”. The highest temperature was measured on Monday in Hossegor, in the southwestern department of Les Landes. There the mercury touched 37.1 degrees, according to measurements by the national weather service Météo France. In the west of the country, temperatures may rise above 36 degrees again today.
According to the weather service, Monday was “the hottest May day since records began.” The national average temperature, measured across thirty weather stations, was 24.4 degrees. This breaks the old record of 23.7 degrees from 1944.
The heat takes its toll. “We can confirm today that the deaths of seven people are directly or indirectly linked to the heat,” government spokesman Maud Bregeon told television channel ‘TF1’. She added that five victims drowned, including three teenagers.
The fatalities occurred in different departments. For example, a 53-year-old man died while exercising in Paris and a woman died during a Hyrox competition near Lyon. Two people died when they were swept away by the current in the Atlantic Ocean. Because it is still early in the year, lifeguards have not yet been deployed on many beaches in France.
Code orange
In France, the code orange for heat will apply in thirteen departments in the west of the country from Wednesday, while there are eight today. In certain regions, temperatures could even rise to 38 and 39 degrees, reports Météo-France. The government calls on the population to “be vigilant and take precautionary measures”.
This is the first time since its introduction in 2004 that the national heat warning system must be deployed in May. Temperatures are expected to drop again from Sunday.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” climate scientist Christophe Cassou responded in ‘Le Monde’. “Taking into account climate data from 1979 to 2025, the chance of this happening at this time of year is one in a thousand. In pre-industrial times, something like this would have been virtually impossible.”
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will convene important ministers for consultations on Thursday. They will evaluate how the government can better prepare for heat waves, after new monthly records were measured across France at more than 350 weather stations on Monday.
Heat records and drownings in UK
The United Kingdom broke its historic temperature record for May on Tuesday, with a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius in London. This was reported by the national weather service Met Office.
Sky News reports that never before has a temperature of 35 degrees been measured so early in the year. The previous record of June 26, 1976 has been comfortably broken, according to the British news channel.
The day before, the temperature had already risen to 34.8 degrees in Kew Gardens, south London, 2 degrees higher than the previous record of 32.8 degrees, set in 1922 and then again in 1944.
Four teenagers have drowned in separate incidents in the United Kingdom since Sunday. One boy was killed in the Sheffield area, another near Manchester and a third in Lincoln. A teenage girl was killed near Birmingham.
