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Temperature records broken on France's Mediterranean coast

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Temperature records broken on France's Mediterranean coast
A pharmacy sign displaying the temperature of 40C in 2022 near Nantes. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)

France's Mediterranean coast has seen record-breaking temperatures on Tuesday as southern Europe sizzles under the 'Cerberus' heatwave.

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By midday on Tuesday a temperature of 41.1C was recorded on the island of Corsica while two towns in the département of Pyrenees-Orientales recorded their hottest temperatures ever - 38.7C in Serralongue and 37.6C in La Tech-La Lau.

An orange heatwave warning - the second highest alert level - has been issued for seven of France's 96 mainland départements - all along the Mediterranean coast.

The départements of Pyrénées-Orientales, Vaucluse, Var, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud are on alert for high temperatures on Tuesday.

On Wednesday the alert continues and the départements of Hérault, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône will also be included.

 

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But while France's southern coastline sizzles - and Italy, Spain and Greece grapple with the 'Cerberus' heatwave, northern and western France are expected to have temperatures close to seasonal averages for the rest of the week.

On Tuesday and Wednesday central France is predicted to see temperatures of 25C-30C, with the western areas of Brittany and Normandy a little cooler at 20C-25C. 

Some storms are expected across the centre of the country on Tuesday. 

France largely escaped the heatwave nicknamed 'Cerberus' last week, which saw record temperatures in Spain, Italy and Greece. Greek authorities temporarily closed the Acropolis during the middle of the day after a tourist collapsed in the heat. 

In neighbouring Italy 16 cities including Rome and Florence are under a red alert for heat, with temperatures set to rise up to 43C by the middle of the week.

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