French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu held a crisis meeting with 14 ministers on Saturday after the national weather agency Meteo France warned the heat would persist into next week. France placed 60 departments on orange heat wave alert on Saturday, with authorities warning that temperatures could rise further in the coming days and that some areas may be upgraded to the highest red alert level on Sunday.
Temperatures are expected to reach record highs in France on Monday, with some areas forecast to see between 37 and 42°C, levels never seen before in certain locations.
Spain is also seeing an ongoing heatwave, with red and orange weather alerts in place for Monday and Tuesday, which are expected to be the hottest days. Temperatures of 37-39°C are expected on Tuesday across the interior of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, and 40-42°C in the Tagus, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir valleys, according to AEMET, the Spanish Met Office. They also warn that temperatures as high as 44°C could be seen on Tuesday in isolated areas.
Portugal too is heating up, with the hottest temperatures as high as 42°C expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to IPMA, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere.
Most of Germany is also under a heat warning, according to Deutscher Wetterdienst, the country’s official weather service, with temperatures approaching 38°C.
An amber extreme heat warning for Monday and Tuesday covering most of the South East, stretching to Norfolk, and parts of South Wales was expanded across East Wales and much of the Midlands on Saturday afternoon. The Met Office says the low 30s are likely in southern England on Sunday, before the heat expands and intensifies on Monday and Tuesday.
