HEAT WAVE VIGILANCE CARD. The heat peak is intensifying and Météo-France has placed 3 new departments on heatwave orange vigilance for Wednesday July 19. In total, 23 departments plus Andorra remain on heat wave vigilance.
[Updated on July 18, 2023 at 4:35 p.m.] Météo-France updated its weather vigilance bulletin on Tuesday July 18 and placed three new departments in heat wave orange vigilance level for Wednesday July 19, 2023. Already placed in yellow on Tuesday , Gard, Hérault and Bouches du Rhône turn orange and join seven other departments: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Vaucluse, Pyrénées-Orientales, Haute- Corsica and Corse-du-Sud.
If peaks at 40 degrees could be reported on Tuesday, especially in the interior of Provence but also in certain resorts in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the mercury will rise again high on Wednesday with maximums reaching 38 degrees in the Gard and exceeding 35 degrees in Montpellier, Marseille, Istres or Gap.
To warn of these moments of very high heat, Météo-France has set up, since the heat wave of 2003, a heat wave vigilance map. Its purpose is to prevent risks and alert authorities and populations. During hot weather, a vigilance map is updated in the morning and evening with several color levels, each corresponding to a level of danger: green, yellow, orange and red.
The heat wave alert continues in the south-east of France. Here is the heat wave vigilance map published by Météo France for Wednesday July 19, 2023.
Every day during heat waves, Météo France updates its vigilance map at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. There are 3 levels of heat wave alertness:
The green color on the Météo-France map means that there is no special vigilance.
After the heatwave episode of 2003, the government decided to set up a National Heatwave Plan (PNC). This heat wave plan is then activated each year from June 1 to September 15 in order to monitor seasonal weather conditions and to be able to act and warn in the event of a heat wave. This plan defines a total of 4 levels of alert, with for each measures to be put in place in order to limit the health effects and protect the most fragile people such as the elderly, infants, children, infants, pregnant women… The heat wave plan also makes it possible to identify vulnerable and isolated people. During a heat wave, take the right steps.
The national heat wave plan defines 4 levels:
Each level of the heat wave plan corresponds to a very specific system piloted by Public Health France, with the Ministry of Health and Prevention, in order to raise awareness and inform French people of the risks associated with each level of vigilance, of the precautions to be taken in the event of heat waves, to protect the most vulnerable (infants, pregnant women, elderly people, etc.) or those most exposed to heat due to their work, and thus avoid a health crisis. Here are the actions taken:
The Minister of Health and Prevention, François Braun, announced on July 13 that he was reactivating the toll-free number Canicule info service. You can reach 0800 06 66 66 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday (free call from a landline in France). An operator will inform you about the heat wave, give you advice on what to do in case of high temperatures to cool you down and lower the temperature in your accommodation.