France is baking under its first official heatwave of the summer, with national forecaster Météo France placing 41 départements on ‘orange’ alert for high temperatures on Wednesday.

The orange weather alerts – the second highest warnings issued by Météo-France, indicating people should take extra care of the conditions – are in place for: Ain, Allier, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Ariège, Aveyron, Cantal, Charente, Cher, Corrèze, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse, Creuse, Dordogne, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Hérault, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Isère, Jura, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Saône-et-Loire, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Deux-Sèvres, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Var, Vaucluse, Vendée, Vienne, and Haute-Vienne.

Anyone living and working in départements under an orange weather warning is urged to be ‘very vigilant’. 

“Dangerous phenomena are expected. Keep informed of developments and follow the safety advice issued by public authorities,” Météo-France says.

Paris

Olympic city of Paris is not on heatwave alert, but is still expected to be hot on Wednesday.

Games organisers are urging spectators to wear hats and sunscreen and keep hydrated.

Water bottles can be taken into all Olympic venues as long as they are metal or plastic – no glass – and there are water fountains where they can be refilled.

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The rest of the week

During orange or red weather alerts, préfectures and town halls will use local and social media to issue regular advice and updates on staying safe in the conditions at the time.

Certain protocols will be triggered to ensure vulnerable people are more closely monitored and kept safe – for example during a heatwave additional services will be made available to the elderly and ill. 

READ ALSO What do France’s weather warnings actually mean?

Wednesday looks set to be the hottest day of the sequence nationwide, Météo France said – as it also warned of thunderstorms from midday over a large northern half of the country, as well as from the Massif Central to the Alps.

Minimum temperatures were expected to drop no lower than 20 to 23C in the southwest of the country on Wednesday, and will rise to between 30C and 35C in the northern half of the country, including Paris, and as high as 39C in the south.

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The good news is that temperatures will start to drop later on Wednesday along the Atlantic coast, though some 40 départements in the south and east of the country remain on provisional orange heatwave alert into Thursday, Météo France has warned.

After another stifling morning, cooler weather will slowly spread from the west throughout Thursday, with temperatures expected to return to seasonal norms across most of France over the weekend. Widespread storms in the north and east are forecast on Thursday, becoming more isolated on Friday.

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However, the heat will not leave the extreme south-east of the country and Corsica, where temperatures will reach as high as 37C.