Heat records set in southern France's Alps and Pyrenees mountains

Local temperature records were set Tuesday at several monitoring stations in the south of France including in the Alps and Pyrenees mountains, the French weather office said.

People cool off in a fountain in Toulouse, southwestern France on July 18, 2023.
People cool off in a fountain in Toulouse, southwestern France on July 18, 2023. © Charly Triballeau, AFP
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Meteo France said a record 29.5 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit) had been reached in the Alpine ski resort of Alpe d’Huez, which sits at an altitude of 1,860 metres (6,100 feet).

In Verdun in the foothills of the Pyrenees, 40.6C had been recorded for the first time.

 

Other local heat records were set in Renno in the hills of Corsica (38.3C) as well as Aups (38.6C) and Vauvenargues (37.3C) in the far south of the country.

Most of France has been spared the worst of the record heatwave scorching southern Europe, with only seven out of 96 mainland departments currently on an orange alert for heat, one down from the highest level.

Three more in southern France will be added to the list on Wednesday.

France experienced a scorching summer last year, with local records set across the country.

The all-time national temperature record of 46C dates from a separate heatwave in 2019 and was set in Verargues, near Montpellier in southern France. 

(AFP)

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