France sizzles as temperatures soar to 104 F

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - Temperatures surpassed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday in the southwest as France was gripped in the earliest recorded heatwave ever, according to the government's meteorological service.

The Meteo France forecasted an “early and intense heatwave episode” in the regions from the southwest to the Pays-de-la-Loire, as well as the middle Rhone valley.

“Absolute records will probably be broken, mainly in the southwest of the country and the Centre-Val de Loire,” it said.

The temperatures in the afternoon are expected to hover around 37-40 C in Occitania, New Aquitaine, and the Rhone Valley, while 35-39 C in Poitou and Vendee, and 35-37 C in the lower Loire Valley.

In the rest of the country, temperatures remained between 30-35 C.

The government placed 12 areas, including Tarn, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, Gironde, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sevres, Vienne, and Vendee in the southwest on red alert, where citizens are advised to guard “absolute vigilance,” and 25 other on orange alert.

To provide relief, the Education Ministry has relaxed the school and college attendance for students in these 12 areas in the throes of the heatwave.

“In these departments, due to the very high temperatures, parents who wish and who are able to do so will be able to keep their children at home and not send them to school or college on Friday,” a ministry statement said.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has set up a green line to provide advice and guidance for citizens affected by the heatwave.