Never in history had the temperature in Paris been so high at 5 in the morning: 26.4 degrees. Heat records also broken for the daily maximum, in the middle of the afternoon.
Update at 6 pm – At 4:32 pm on Thursday 25 July, the thermometer at the historic weather station in Parc Montsouris, in Paris, reached 42.6 degrees Celsius. This shattered the previous all-time record of 40.4 degrees, which dated back to 1947. Since 1873, when temperatures began to be recorded on a regular basis, the French capital had exceeded the 40-degree mark on only that one occasion.
Thursday 25 July will go down in the meteorological history of France. The European nation is experiencing a new day of exceptional heat, with numerous records broken. Never before had such high temperatures been recorded at 5 in the morning in Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lyon. According to the Météo France weather service, the capital broke its all-time record for minimum temperatures, with 26.4 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous historical high set in August 2003 of 25.5 degrees.
Similarly, in Bordeaux the mercury read 27.1 degrees at first light: the previous record, also set in August 2003, was 23.5 degrees. Further south, in Toulouse, the temperature was 24.7 degrees (the previous high dated back to last June, at 24.2 degrees). Finally, in Lyon the temperature stood at 26.7 degrees (the previous record set in June at 26 degrees).
It is the northern part of the country that is being hit hardest by the scorching heat, with 20 départements placed on red alert, the highest level possible on metropolitan territory.
From Paris to the Pas-de-Calais, areas normally considered sheltered from events of this kind will experience exceptional temperatures during the course of the afternoon. A further 60 départements are on orange alert.
In the capital, forecasts point to a maximum temperature of around 42 degrees. This would shatter the all-time daytime heat record, which dates back to 28 July 1947, when temperatures reached 40.4 degrees. The authorities have also issued a health warning: "It is the first time that a phenomenon of this kind has reached the far north of the country, where the population is not accustomed to this type of temperature," warned Health Minister Agnès Buzyn.
Furthermore, according to what a senior Météo France official, Guillaume Ferry, told radio station France Info, as soon as a cooler air mass comes into contact with the scorching air mass sitting over French territory, "we can expect some very violent storms. Vigilance will be required." Records have also been broken or come close to being broken in other European countries, particularly Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
