South-east France is still in the grip of the fourth heatwave of the summer – but the rest of the country is due to plough straight into a fifth in a few days, with temperatures expected to top 40C in the south and 35C in the north.
Eight départements in the south-east of France were under orange weather alert on Friday as they sweltered under the remnants of the fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures hitting 40C in the Gard and Var.
And there will be little room for respite. After a stormy weekend in the south of the country, temperatures across almost all of France are set to soar again in the second full week of August, with the mercury expected to pass 40C in parts of the south and 35C in the northern areas.
A relatively small part of north-western France will escape the worst of the latest in an unprecedented series of heatwaves.
The latest hot phase of the sweltering summer of 2026 – July was the hottest month on record in France – is set to start on Sunday, when temperatures will exceed 30C across much of the country before climbing even higher early in the new week.
Heatwave warnings are likely across most of the country, forecasters have warned – with south-eastern, central and north-eastern France likely to be under orange alert for heat, the second-highest warning level, while the risk of wildfires will increase once again.
Current forecasts predict the peak of the heatwave to be on August 12th and 13th, with the national thermic indicator (the average temperature recorded at a specific set of weather stations over a 24-hour period) expected to pass 29C, close to the all-time 24-hour average high set at the end of June.
Forecasters expect the heatwave to last into next weekend, before the prospect of another rainy break in the weather. The rains, however, will not be sufficient to create a let-up in the drought that is also affecting the country.
Next week’s heatwave will be the fourth of the summer caused by a so-called omega block, which occurs when a large high-pressure system becomes trapped between two low-pressure systems, preventing cooler Atlantic weather from moving across France.
The blocked high pressure then draws hot air northwards from North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, creating what is commonly known as a ‘heat dome’.
And while the forecast intensity and speed of the next one will concern most, meteorologists are more concerned by their frequency this summer – this is the first time France has baked under so many heat domes in a single summer.
Longer-term seasonal forecasting models, meanwhile, suggest a trend towards higher-than-normal temperatures, and lower-than-normal rainfall well into October.
