The thermometer is going haywire once again. On Wednesday, July 29, temperatures are flirting with 40°C in the southwest, Paris is nearing 38°C, and a large part of the country is suffocating under a blazing sun.
At first glance, this third heat episode of the summer looks identical to the previous ones Yet, behind these crushing temperatures, the meteorological mechanics are completely different. And this should be felt in the coming days. Here’s why.
A More Mobile and Less Persistent Heat
The first two heat waves of the summer indeed shared a common trait: they settled in for the long haul. At the end of June and the beginning of July, a vast heat dome trapped hot air over France and Western Europe, preventing temperatures from dropping for several days.
This time, the situation is different. finds itself on the edge of a heat dome that is positioned more over Central Europe. In concrete terms, a surge of very hot air from the south will cause a temperature peak on Wednesday, but this heat push will not remain blocked durably over the country. As early as Thursday, cooler air from the Atlantic will reach the west and northwest, shifting the heat eastward.
Less Widespread Heat, but Intense in Places
>Another difference from the previous episodes: this heat wave is expected to be less intense on a national scale. The national thermal indicator is expected to reach 27.4°C on, a high level but lower than the two previous peaks. At the end of June, this indicator had crossed the 30°C mark, and in July, it had reached 28.1°C at the height of the heatwave.
However, behind this national average, the reality will be very different depending on the region. While the west of the country will quickly find more breathable temperatures from Thursday, the eastern and southeastern regions will remain exposed to high heat for longer, with peaks of 40°C by the end of the week.
It be noted that after a lull on Saturday, temperatures could start rising again as early as Sunday, this time over a large part of the country, with the exception of the English Channel coast and part of Brittany. This succession of heat waves remains exceptional: France is experiencing its third summer heat wave, a situation observed only in 2017 and 2022.
