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France and Mediterranean face extreme heat and record sea temperatures
France is experiencing a severe and prolonged heatwave, with temperatures in cities like Tours and Carcassonne reaching 40°C. Météo-France has maintained orange alerts for 83 departments due to the extreme heat and an ongoing historic drought. While a gradual temperature decrease is expected toward the end of the weekend, the heat remains intense in the east and south. The weather pattern is also bringing instability, with forecasts for heavy thunderstorms, hail, and strong wind gusts across various regions.
In the Mediterranean, record-breaking temperatures have been recorded. The sea reached an average surface temperature of 27.07°C in July, the highest ever measured for that month. Data from Copernicus and Mercator Ocean International indicate that 79% of the Mediterranean was affected by marine heatwaves during July, marking a significant escalation in ocean warming.
In the Lot department of France, extreme hydrological tension has led to new restrictions on water usage to protect drinking water supplies and manage dwindling resources in rivers and aquifers.
Entities
Copernicus · Enedis · France · Mediterranean Sea · Mercator Ocean International · Météo-France · RTÉ · Secrétariat général de la Défense et de la Sécurité nationale
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [DISPUTED] France will organize a full-scale simulation of a national electrical blackout in the second half of 2027.
- [DISPUTED] The simulation will be a tabletop exercise rather than a real power outage.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The decision follows a major blackout in Spain and Portugal in April 2025 and cyberattacks on Polish power plants in December 2025.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The exercise will involve military administration, several ministries, RTE, and Enedis.