France endures renewed heatwave as orange alerts cover ten departments

A fifth wave of intense heat is set to hit France from 11 August, with daytime temperatures expected between 35 °C and 40 °C across much of the country. Météo‑France has kept ten southeastern departments – including Var, Drôme, Gard and the two Corsican departments – under orange‑level heat alerts, while three Alpine departments were downgraded to yellow.

The prolonged high temperatures have prompted a red fire‑risk warning for the Esterel/Tanneron massif in the Alpes‑Maritimes, where access and work are prohibited for the day of 6 August to prevent human‑caused ignitions. Meanwhile, after several days of heat, the Dordogne department experienced violent thunderstorms that dumped up to 59 mm of rain in an hour, toppling trees, damaging roads and causing power outages for thousands of households.

Authorities continue to urge the public to avoid open fires, discard cigarette butts responsibly and report any signs of smoke promptly, as nine out of ten forest fires are human‑initiated.