HEAT wave WAS 2020. No French department is alert heatwave, informs Meteorological-France after a week of grueling heat everywhere in France.
Summary Vigilance and alert heatwave Plan heatwave Recommendation heatwave Cool his house during a heat wave Heat wave : temperature records
[updated 14 August 2020 at 10h47] France has witnessed three waves of intense heat in June, July and August 2020, with peaks of 40 degrees locally. Several departments have been placed in vigilance red or orange heat wave by Météo France. If this new episode will not have reached the intensity of those of 2019, with a record of 46°C, or the length of the heat wave history in 2003, this heat wave should still reach the top 5 of the most severe that will be experienced by France, with tropical nights, the bar 40°C once again taken on many of the weather stations or a series of several consecutive days of very hot in some cities, even in the north of the Loire.
To be qualified as a heat wave, a period of high temperatures must meet two conditions : the temperature must be higher than 5 degrees with respect to the normal of the season, the day, as night and that should last at least for 3 days and 3 nights. As a reminder, France has experienced two heatwaves in the summer of 2019, from the month of June, and several cities broke temperature records. Expect to be hot today, and check out our tips for keeping the house cool, but also our advice to avoid dehydration.
be Vigilant and alert heatwave : when can we speak about a heat wave ?
Heat wave and heat wave are two different things. To speak of a heat wave, the temperatures should be higher than 5 degrees with respect to the normal of the season, the day, or night, and this for at least 3 days and 3 nights. The threshold temperature a balmy differs according to the departments and the regions. Episodes of extremely hot and dry have the more often place in France in July and August. It is necessary to be vigilant in the month of June. In 2019, the heat arrived earlier than expected, and France experienced a heat wave unprecedented at the end of June 2019. This episode has affected almost the whole of France with very high temperatures during the day, who do redescendaient not really the night.
It is important to know that Météo-France provides for several levels of vigilance heatwave : level 1 (green) corresponds to a “standby seasonal”, level 2 (yellow) to a “warning heat” and it is level 3 (orange) which corresponds to the “alert heatwave”. Finally, the level 4 (red), the higher, determines the “optimal mobilization”. During the heatwave of June 2019, Météo-France has placed in vigilance orange heat up to 78 departments, and 4 departments in vigilance red, a first in France for a phenomenon of a heat wave.
what is the plan heatwave in France ?
Since June 1, 2020, the national plan for heat is activated. The level 3 plan heat wave in particular allows you to put in place measures for vulnerable individuals, i.e. elderly people, people with a disease and pregnant women. A telephone call center (3975) thus makes it possible to contact people in a situation of fragility, which are pre-registered or whose status has been reported. For these people, rooms cooled too specific are also available between 14h and 18h. For all of the rooms updated are in free access in some local councils, to the same time slots. The ministry of Solidarity and Health has also set up a platform-wide telephone at your disposal. In warmer climes, you can join the 0 800 06 66 66 all days from 9h to 19h. The call is free from a fixed position. As a reminder, the plan heatwave 2019 level 3 had been activated in several French departments at the end of June but also in July 2019 by prefectures to respond to the strong heat.
What are the recommendations in case of a heat wave ?
During periods of hot weather, to cope with the severe heat, and avoid discomfort and dehydration, the government makes available to the public recommendations available on the website of the ministry of Health. For example, it is recommended to drink water regularly, without waiting to be thirsty and to avoid alcohol. It is also advisable to eat enough even though the appetite decreases in the case of heat, and focusing on fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables. To refresh you, he should not hesitate to get wet in the body, the face and front arms. The ministry of Health also invites them to spend several hours in a cool place like the mall or the cinema and avoid going out during the hottest hours of the day, but also not to make sport in the middle of the day. It is requested to all to be vigilant and stay attentive to the needs of the most fragile people. It is necessary to pay attention to when you bathe to avoid the risk of immersion syncope and drowning. During periods of hot weather, the risk of drowning, are important. The difference between the temperature of the body and the water can be very high in a time of strong heats and there is a risk of immersion syncope.
How cool his house during a heat wave ?
Before you invest in an air conditioner, a fan, or a rafraîchisseur of air, just a few simple steps can already help you to reduce the heat in your home and to face the severe heat. Keeping the shutters closed during the day when it is hot and opening the windows only in the dark of the night, you will suffer less from the heat. If you do not have a shutter, you can take the blinds, knowing that the external blinds are more effective than those installed inside. Think, too, if you have the possibility to disconnect a maximum of electrical appliances (computer, television or hifi), they are a source of heat is not negligible, it is still easy to control. Avoid, of course, cooking in the oven during this period and limit the use of the electric cooker or vitro-ceramics that emit a lot of heat.
There are also a few simple tricks to put in place to cool a room, such as for example the bedroom for a better night’s sleep. You can wet a large towel or sheets with ice water, and then extend it in front of the window. The evaporation of the water should lower the temperature of the room. If despite all your efforts, don’t always not the current temperatures, please do not hesitate to invest in a fan. Even if he mashes, warm air, even warm, it gives a feeling of freshness non-negligible period of a heat wave. For a more fresh air, simply cover the instrument with a damp towel or placing a bottle of frozen water, just in front of it. If you really can’t stand to be hot, then you can move to the higher gear by investing in an air freshener, or even in an air conditioner.
Good plans, fan and air conditioning : the specials guns of the balances are there !
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See the file
Refresh your home : tips to know
Heat wave : back on the record-breaking temperatures in 2019
France has witnessed a summer of 2019 very warm with two heat waves at the counter. The records of maximum temperature were exceeded in a large part of France. According to the data of Météo-France, it is more than 50 towns and cities that record a new record since the July 25, 2019. At the end of June, for example, mercury has reached a peak and several cities had already surpassed their record of maximum temperature :
45,8 degrees have been recorded in Gallargues-le-Montueux in Montpellier, the thermometer showed 42.5 degrees which is 5 degrees higher than its former record of The thermometer has shown to 44.3 degrees in Carpentras