France shatters heat record as temperatures top 44 degrees Celsius

France has experienced its hottest day since records began in 1947, with the national average temperature climbing to 29.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according to state weather service Météo France.

The figure, based on preliminary values recorded at 5 pm (1500 GMT), broke the previous record of 29.4 degrees Celsius, set on both July 25, 2019, and August 5, 2003.

The national average temperature is measured using the national temperature indicator (ITN), which tracks the daily average of daytime and night-time temperatures from 30 reference weather stations on the French mainland.

Historic heatwave with temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius

According to the weather service, the current heatwave is characterized by extraordinarily high peak temperatures sustained over both day and night.

Preliminary readings showed 44.3 degrees Celsius in the Atlantic coast town of Pissos on Tuesday afternoon, with many other towns also recording temperatures well above 40 degrees.

France had already experienced its hottest night in decades during the previous night, with the national temperature indicator reaching 21.6 degrees Celsius – the highest since records began in 1947.

Some schools have closed and in some cases school-leaving exams have been postponed. According to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, 40 people have drowned in the country since Thursday, many of them minors.

Météo France raised its heat warning for the country again for Wednesday afternoon.

A red alert – the highest warning level – is now in place in 58 regions nationwide, with an orange alert in 31. France is thus almost entirely affected by the heatwave to a serious degree.

It remains unclear whether the heatwave will also surpass the devastating August 2003 heatwave in terms of duration – that event lasted 16 days.

Heatwaves becoming more frequent

According to weather service records, this is the 52nd heatwave in France since 1947.

Half of all recorded heatwaves occurred before 2010 and half after 2010.

The weather service said heatwaves are increasingly occurring before the start of the meteorological summer, and are becoming ever more likely due to the changing climate.

France’s nuclear power plants buckle under heat

France’s heatwave is expected to force several of the country’s nuclear power plants to reduce output, with state energy company EDF cutting production at the Golfech plant in the south of the country on Monday night.

EDF also announced operational restrictions at three further plants on Tuesday. The reason was the rising water temperature in the rivers from which cooling water is drawn, EDF said.

The measures are intended to prevent the temperature in the rivers from exceeding set limits when the heated cooling water is discharged back into them.

In addition to Golfech, restrictions could also affect the Blayais nuclear plant, also located on the Garonne, EDF said. Restrictions are also being considered for the Bugey and Saint-Alban plants on the Rhône.

According to EDF, the impact of the measures on electricity production is negligible. Throttling or shutting down nuclear plants during heatwaves has led to a reduction in annual electricity output of an average of 0.3% since 2000. However, if heatwaves become more frequent and intense, the impact could be greater.

Tourist sites close doors early

The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in Paris closed early for visitors on Tuesday in response to France’s historic heatwave.

No visitors were admitted to the Eiffel Tower from midday, with the landmark closing at 4 pm. It was not yet known whether entry times would also be reduced in the coming days.

The Louvre said it will close at 4 pm instead of 6 pm from Wednesday to Saturday. The museum said the historic building was inadequately designed for climate change and that heat builds up in some areas towards the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Mont Saint Michel (Saint Michael’s Mount) in Normandy advised tourists to postpone their visit due to the extreme heat, France Info reported.