Temperatures reached up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday (August 3) in France, as the country enters the peak of its third heatwave of the summer.
While the episode is milder than the previous one, the heat is further worsening the drought experienced in the country since July.
“Over the coming days, as well as over last week, we are still expecting a very anticyclonic weather throughout the country, without rainfall and so there is so far no end in sight to this drought,” French weather forecaster Florian Hortola told Reuters.
The blistering temperatures have lead authorities to implement water use restrictions in nearly all regions of mainland France, in an effort to preserve crops among others.
With the effects of climate change, heatwaves and droughts are only expected to become more common and to last longer, according to Hortola.
“We have classic meteorological situations but this warming of the atmosphere leads to temperatures which are higher than before, so now it is very easy to have very high temperatures for several days in a row and thus heatwaves,” he said.
(Reuters)
