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France braces for new heatwave with mercury set to reach 40C (again)

The Local France
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France braces for new heatwave with mercury set to reach 40C (again)
Photo: AFP/Meteo France

Temperatures in France are set to rise once again from next week, with predictions that the mercury will hit 40C in certain parts of the country from Monday.

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It's just a few weeks since France's last heatwave when record temperatures were reached - but it looks like the French are in for another hot week. 
 
The mercury is set to reach a scorching 40C during the day and 27C at night in parts of the country, with the south east expected to experience a particularly sweltering week. 
 
In the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions, temperatures are not expected to fall below 25C-27C at night, according to France's national weather agency Météo France.
 
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Weather forecast for Monday 2pm-8pm. Map: Météo France
 
On Tuesday, the mercury should hit around 35C across much of the country, except in the north west and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, where temperatures will be significantly cooler.
 
The peak could be reached Wednesday and Thursday, with 39C to 40C in the south east, and 35C in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
 
A thunderstorm in the north west should cool things down a bit on Friday, however temperatures are expected to remain above 30C across much of the country.
 
But will the hot temperatures actually constitute an official heatwave?
 
The forecasts for next week, according to weather forecasters, are not yet definite.
 
So far the national weather agency has given them three or four out of five for reliability and forecasters will have a better idea of what to expect in the coming days. At the moment it is considered "an episode of strong heat to watch out for".
 
"It is too early to say i we are heading for a heat wave," Etienne Kapikian, forecaster at Météo France, told Le Parisien.
 
"The scenarios are fluctuating. It is not yet known with certainty whether the duration of the phenomenon or its precise location beyond the southern part of France."
 
French weather forecasters define an official heatwave as three consecutive days of consistently very high temperatures throughout the day and night, with the levels varying depending on the region. 

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