Tourists issued travel warning amid soaring 40C temperatures
Travelers heading abroad this week are being advised to exercise caution. It comes after a fresh weather alert which reports that temperatures in parts of the country are expected to soar to nearly 40C.
Over the past two weeks, french media, bfmtv, reports that "France has experienced average temperatures that are 'two degrees below normal.'" They note that while much of northern France will be cloudy, other regions are expected to enjoy sunny weather, though it is spiking so high that people do need to be careful.
They warn that on "August 4, the country is divided in two with a northern part under clouds from Brittany to Alsace in the morning and the rest enjoying a cloudy sky. 25C will be recorded in Cherbourg, 30C in Paris and up to 34C in Gap, 35C in Toulouse and 36C in Alès and Bordeaux."
The next day, on August 5, the mercury will remain high with 32C in Lyon, 29C in Nice and 36C in Perpignan - and even higher in other areas with it reaching 39C in Alès. Weather experts from Météo-France note: "The level of danger of forest fires remains high around the Mediterranean."
This latest warning follows a forest fire in southern France, triggered by a sharp temperature spike at the start of July. The fire spread across an area equivalent to 2,000 rugby fields of trees and as a result, an autoroute to Spain was temporarily shut down with residents forced to evacuate their homes.
"The fire, the latest of several in the area in recent days, started on the property of a winery south of the city of Narbonne on Monday afternoon, then spread rapidly due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave", reports France24.
"More than 1,000 firefighters battled the flames overnight, but by the morning the inferno had partially damaged 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of land and was still going strong, local authorities said", they added.
Met Office amber and yellow weather warning as Storm Floris batters UK
In the UK, people have also been placed under a weather alert. The Met Office has issued two warnings for today (August 4), with heavy rain and strong winds expected across parts of England and Scotland.
Storm Floris is currently battering the UK with winds reaching up to 85mph in some areas. A yellow warning, covering large areas of the country, is in place until midnight, while an amber warning, specific to Scotland, will remain in force until 11pm.
You can read all about the latest Met Office UK weather warning which covers 96 areas. This includes the latest amber alert which has since been extended.
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