Heatwave: 54 departments still on orange alert, up to 42 degrees expected in Montpellier
A large half of southern France remains in the red. The heatwave continues Saturday across a large part of the country, with 54 departments placed on orange alert by Météo France, on the ninth day of a heatwave that is also affecting southern Europe.
A particularly intense heatwave is expected in Aude and Hérault, according to Météo France forecasts, which has included southern Brittany in its alert. In Montpellier, the thermometer is expected to show a maximum of 42°C on Saturday afternoon, while Cherbourg—in green like the rest of Normandy—will benefit from milder weather with maximum temperatures between 22°C and 24°C.
The Bouches-du-Rhône department will remain on orange heatwave alert at least until Sunday, with a slight increase in maximum temperatures on Saturday, from 37°C to 39°C inland and from 34°C to 36°C on the coast. The heatwave in the department is accompanied by ozone air pollution, forcing traffic restrictions to be maintained in Marseille.
The risk of fires will also be high in the coming days in the South and Centre-West due to drought and winds, particularly in Aude, Vaucluse and Drôme, which will be placed on red alert for fire danger, Météo-France announced. In Aude, where wind gusts of up to 45 km/h are expected on Saturday, the work of the firefighters is expected to be even more complicated for the 330 firefighters still mobilized to deal with the exceptional fire that has spread across 16,000 hectares and is still not extinguished, with a risk of re-ignition accentuated by the high temperatures. The Vaucluse prefecture prohibited access to a dozen mountain ranges on Saturday.
The heatwave will last until the end of the day before receding to the north and west on Sunday and especially Monday. New thunderstorms early next week are expected to lower temperatures, according to Météo France, and put an end to this long heatwave. Forecasters expect the orange alert to end Saturday evening for all departments of Auvergne, Limousin, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val-de-Loire, as well as for Loire, Ain, Lozère, Aveyron, Deux-Sèvres, and Vienne.
As of 6 a.m. Saturday, twelve departments, primarily in the Northeast, have already been placed on yellow alert, Météo France reported in its latest bulletin. The institute anticipates a wider decline on Sunday, particularly in the Center, with 18 additional departments downgraded.
The heatwave began in France on August 8. Initially confined to the south, with particularly high temperatures in the Mediterranean region, it reached exceptional levels between Monday and Wednesday from the southwest to the center-east, where numerous records were broken.
In France, 266 weather stations recorded a temperature of 40°C or more at least once between August 9 and 12, 2025 inclusive. This is more than in the entire second half of the 20th century (235), a figure made much more likely by global warming.
Libération
