Paris (AFP)

A new peak of intense heat will hit France on Friday, with up to 42 ° C expected in the South-West, prelude to a lasting heatwave that will make the population and the vegetation stick their tongue out.

Faced with this heat wave which should last until the middle of next week, Météo-France has placed 45 departments in orange heat wave vigilance, on a wide band stretching from the Pyrenees to the Belgian border, passing through the Center and the region Parisian but sparing the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

Friday promises to be even more stifling, with highs between 37 to 40 ° C over a large half of the country, and peaks of up to 42 ° C locally in Occitanie, Pays-de-Loire, Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaine.

In Bordeaux, the 3,500 m2 "Miroir d'eau" on the banks of the Garonne, which for 14 years has become a popular meeting place for freshness, should be taken by storm, even if it has been deprived since Thursday of its function + fogger +, Covid requires. Adults and children will still be able to lie down or wade in the thin carpet of water.

This peak on Friday resembles the short heat wave of last weekend when the once extraordinary 40 ° C mark was briskly crossed in many resorts in the south of France.

This new episode will be "lasting", unlike the previous peak, and these repeated heat waves are one of the clearest markers of global warming.

In addition to the sometimes scorching nights, this poses a much greater risk to the most fragile organisms.

The Ministry of Health has therefore opened its "heat wave" telephone platform (0800 06 66 66) to answer questions from the population, called upon to protect themselves from this heat which can be fatal. Although progress has been made since the 15,000 deaths in 2003, nearly 1,500 deaths have been attributed to the heatwaves of summer 2019.

"Whatever our age, whatever our physical condition, extreme heat always carries risks. Let us adopt all the right actions and be attentive to each other," pleaded the Minister of Health Olivier Véran on Twitter.

- Water restrictions -

In the episode that begins, even the northern half of the country will not be spared.

Thus, Lille could live a series of five days at more than 35 ° C, with "tropical" nights (above 20 ° C): "unprecedented" since the opening of the reference station in 1944, notes on Twitter Gaétan Heymes , from Météo-France.

Even longer sequence of 6 days above 35 ° C in Paris. "It would be unheard of outside of 2003 (9 days in August) since 1873," forecaster François Jobard tweeted.

To cope with this heat, the SNCF must activate its heat wave plan on Friday, which provides for reinforced monitoring of equipment and infrastructure. She also calls on travelers to stay hydrated.

But this exceptional situation, remind the health authorities, does not exempt from barrier gestures and the wearing of a mask to fight against the spread of Covid-19.

This episode should not reach the intensity of the two exceptional heatwaves of 2019, marked by an absolute record at 46 ° C, nor the duration of that of 2003, according to Météo-France.

But it follows the warmest start of the year (January-July) on record since 1900. And for soils and plants, it is superimposed on an already very pronounced drying out, after in particular the driest month of July since at least 1959.

A real challenge for farmers, already hit hard by the exceptional droughts of 2018 and 2019. And an increased risk of fires.

Faced with this situation, water use restrictions were taken in 72 departments affected to varying degrees, according to the official website Propluvia.

This heat wave is also accompanied in certain regions by ozone pollution, a classic pollutant of heat waves which easily penetrates the respiratory tract.

Paris thus set up differentiated traffic on Thursday. A deterioration in air quality is also expected in the Lyon basin and in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

© 2020 AFP