Météo-France said the heatwave kept building over the weekend, and Sunday delivered the sharpest reading yet: 42.3 °C in Pissos, in Landes. The agency said the canicule should persist until at least midweek, with very high temperatures still in place across much of France.
That is why the search for news today is centered on the same question across the country: how hot will it get, and for how long? Météo-France said nights remained hot on most of France, which means the heat is not easing when the sun goes down. It also warned that temperatures could reach or locally exceed 40 °C in the west on Sunday, while strong local thunderstorms could develop later in the day.
The numbers behind that warning were severe. On Sunday 12 July, 40 °C was reached or exceeded in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and the mark was also reached up to the edges of Vendée, Anjou and Berry. More than 35 °C spread over a large part of the country, especially in the west, while thunderstorms were expected at the end of the day along the arc atlantique. Météo-France said the heat and dry soils created an exceptional wildfire danger situation across the entire territory, a judgment that reflects both the intensity of the heat and the lack of moisture in the ground.
The forecast also showed a shift rather than a clean break. The western half of the country was expected to cool on Monday 13 July, with temperatures even falling below 30 °C locally on the coasts of Sud-Bretagne and in Pays de Loire, but the hottest weather was set to move toward central regions. On that same day, 40 °C remained possible locally in Centre-Val de Loire, Bourgogne, the north of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes, which meant the relief in the west would not mean relief everywhere.
By Tuesday 14 July, the heat was expected to remain very high over most of the country. Temperatures above 35 °C were forecast in the Midi toulousain, Centre, Bourgogne and the région parisienne, while 40 °C were possible from the arrière-pays varois to the vallée du Rhône and the région lyonnaise. Minimum temperatures above 20 °C were still expected elsewhere, with lows close to 24 to 25 °C in the Centre and east of the country, Île-de-France and the région lyonnaise. The clearest reading from Météo-France is that the heatwave is not a one-day spike: it is a sustained spell, and the hardest-hit areas are shifting rather than disappearing.
