Forecaster Météo-France placed three French départements on red wildfire alert for Tuesday and expanded its orange heatwave warning to 61 départements as a new heatwave bakes France one again.
Heatwave alerts extended
Météo-France also extended the orange heatwave alert to 61 départements across the country for Tuesday.
This is Météo-France’s second-highest weather warning level, signifying dangerous conditions that require the public to be “extremely vigilant”.
🟠 Vigilance Orange canicule pour 61 départements ce mardi à compter de 12h.
⚠️ Nouvel épisode caniculaire, sévère et durable.
🌡️ 35 à 38 °C sur la plupart des régions, jusqu’à 38 à 41 °C sur un grand quart sud-ouest.
📱 https://t.co/SBcDaJ3wuk pic.twitter.com/jcVohI5cY5
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) July 6, 2026
Temperatures are expected to be at their peak, with highs of 35C to 38C in most regions, and up to 38C to 41C across the south-west. Only the Hauts-de-France region, the Channel coast will remain below 35C.
Départements on heatwave orange alert on Tuesday. (Google Maps)
On Monday, temperatures were set to surpass 35C in the southwest, and reach up to 39C in parts. In the Languedoc-Roussillon, temperatures were forecast to reach 38C to 40C, according to the forecaster.
Temperatures hit record highs in France in June.
The exceptional June heatwave also led to an almost-30-percent increase in the number of deaths nationwide, France’s public health agency said on Friday.
Ongoing wildfires
Météo-France also placed three départements on red alert for wildfires on Tuesday, with 61 départements on orange alert.
According to Météo-France, a red alert level warning indicates that “weather conditions mean there is a very high risk of wildfires starting and spreading compared to summer norms”.
READ ALSO: What you should do if there are wildfire warnings in your part of France
Météo-France warning for départements on wildfire alert for Tuesday. (Météo-France)
Ongoing wildfires
The wildfire in a remote mountainous area within the municipality of Die in the Drôme continued to spread on Monday, bringing the total area affected to 500 hectares.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Monday morning that he would be travelling to the Pyrénées-Orientales in the afternoon.
The fire currently raging in the département had already spread across 4,600 hectares, near Perpignan was still not under control on Monday afternoon.
Officials also decided that Monday’s third stage of the Tour de France cycling race through the Pyrénées would still take place albeit without spectators who normally line the routes of the competition.
Wildfires currently ongoing in France. (Google Maps)
READ ALSO: MAP: How to get the latest wildfire information and alerts in France
Fire season started ‘a month early’
“As expected, the fire season has started a month early,” Laurent Nuñez told France 2 TV.
According to the Minister, 11,000 hectares of land have already been burnt this year. At the same time last year, the figure stood at 5,700 hectares.
“The heatwave has left the vegetation quite dry, and the conditions are unfavourable.” He added that yesterday, “around twenty fires were being tackled at the same time”.
READ ALSO: Do heatwaves cause wildfires in France?