The heat wave may intensify today in France with “extreme levels” of heat in the south-west of the country, where 12 departments should be on maximum alert, according to the National Meteorological Institute.

Maximum temperatures “very often above 40 degrees Celsius” are expected and the mercury could “locally” reach 42 degrees, according to Météo-France.

“We may approach record levels, record unprecedented values, but we are not expected to reach the national record of 48 degrees Celsius,” according to the forecast made by meteorologist Christelle Robert at a press conference yesterday, Sunday evening.

By yesterday, many cities had already exceeded the 40 degrees Celsius mark, with 42.2 recorded in the geographical region of Ero, 41.3 in that of the Eastern Pyrenees or 40.9 in that of Gar.

The heat wave, which extended and intensified from Friday in the southern half of France, “is moving northward”. “We will exceed 30 degrees Celsius everywhere in France”, with temperatures that could reach 38 degrees Celsius in the central part of the country and 34 in the Paris region, Météo-France explained.

The National Weather Institute, in its latest forecast released this morning, clarifies that the current heatwave could last “at least” through the weekend of August 15. “Nights will be quite difficult,” Robert predicted, with maximum night-time temperatures expected to be at a high level: more than 20 degrees Celsius is forecast for the coming night in Paris.

This heat wave, the second in the country this summer, following the one from June 19 to July 4, is also the 51st recorded since 1947, according to Météo-France.

Climatologist Jean-Jouzel noted that “the risk of heatwaves in France is twice as high as it was thirty years ago”. “We are in a context of global warming that has been documented for 40 years, so let’s not be surprised by what we are experiencing,” he noted in a press conference with La Tribune Dimanche.