Five French departments move to orange alert as heat persists
Five southern French departments on orange alert; temperatures 36-38°C through Sunday.
Event / Disaster
Southern France Heat Wave September 2026
Significant heat wave affecting southern France starting September 4, 2026, with maximum temperatures of 36-39°C. Five departments placed on orange alert and several on yellow alert by Météo-France.
4 reported locations
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2026-09-03 to 2026-11-07 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 3 Sept, 15:47 UTC
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What happened
Maximum temperatures reach 36-38°C in southwestern France and Rhône valley
Maximum temperatures were expected to reach 36 to 38°C on Friday afternoon, September 4, 2026, in southwestern France and the Rhône valley region. Temperatures in interior Languedoc were expected to approach 39°C locally, with monthly heat records probable in some areas.
September heat wave expected to persist through Sunday
Very high temperatures were forecast to persist at least until Sunday, September 7, 2026, across the southern half of France, particularly in the southeast. The northern half of the country was expected to remain largely unaffected with maximum temperatures below 35°C.
Additional southern French departments on yellow heat alert
Multiple departments in southeastern France were placed on yellow heat alert as of Thursday, September 3, 2026: Ardèche, Drôme, Gard, Hérault, Aude, and Pyrénées-Orientales. Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Bouches-du-Rhône remained at normal alert status at that time.
Five French departments placed on orange heat alert
Météo-France placed five departments in southern France on orange heat alert starting Friday, September 4, 2026 at noon. The affected departments are Ardèche, Aude, Drôme, Gard, and Hérault. The alert was triggered by hot air moving north from the Iberian Peninsula.
Vaucluse placed on yellow heat alert
The Vaucluse department was placed on yellow heat alert starting at 12:00 on Friday, September 4, 2026, due to rising temperatures from a heat dome settling over Provence. Temperatures in some areas of Vaucluse were expected to reach 40°C, and the alert could escalate.
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