Weather: 20 departments on heat wave alert from 3 p.m.

Sunscreen, hat and relaxation in the shade will be essential for the next few days. According to forecasts by La Chaîne Météo, a hot subtropical air mass is engulfing the country this week, when temperatures were already very summery across France.

We are now talking about a scorching heat wave, given that certain parts of the territory will experience a minimum of three consecutive days of strong heat, “with temperatures 5 to 18°C ​​higher than average, often between 20°C at night and more than 35°C during the day”, specifies the site specializing in meteorology.

If it will be heavy all week, it is from Thursday that the heat will become very painful or even unbearable in places, with peaks of 40°C expected locally.

The forecaster announces: “Friday, the regions north of the Seine will in turn be affected by these exceptionally high temperatures. It will be, with Saturday, the hottest day of the week”.

If this situation should lead to violent stormy episodes next weekend, it will also result in an accentuation of the drought.

Some departments did not wait for their neighbors to welcome the heat wave. The Weather Channel has placed around twenty departments on yellow and orange heat wave alert between Tuesday June 14, 3 p.m., and Friday June 17, 6 p.m. Find out if yours is affected in our slideshow below.

Note: an orange alert means that the department concerned will reach the heat wave thresholds, while a yellow alert indicates that the thresholds will be approached.

The forecaster also recalls that the departments on alert are not necessarily those where it will be the hottest, the heat wave thresholds being different from one department to another.

The specialized site takes into account “the geography and the urbanization of the departments, and the possible concentration of the inhabitants in large metropolises which remain hot at night”.