Nearly 80 French departments on orange heat alert as temperatures near 40C

Nearly 80 French departments were placed under an orange heat alert for Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C (104F).

France’s national weather service Meteo-France issued orange heat wave alerts for 78 departments for Wednesday, while the number is expected to rise to 80 on Thursday.

The ongoing heat wave is forecast to push temperatures to between 36C and 40C (97F-104F) across France.

Temperatures of up to 39C-40C (102F-104F) are expected in Saumur in the Maine-et-Loire department.

Meanwhile, 67 departments were under drought crisis measures for the week, while 20 others were at heightened alert levels, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

Water restrictions have therefore been put in place across large parts of the country, particularly on watering, outdoor cleaning and the use of public and private fountains.

As of Aug. 1, almost all, or 94%, of France’s groundwater reserves were showing declining levels, according to the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM), BFMTV reported.

According to the government, nearly 70% of France is currently subject to water-use restrictions.

Meanwhile, 45 departments have been placed under orange alert due to a high risk of forest fires.