Bordeaux hits 41.9C as France places 54 regions on red alert

2026-06-23

A heatwave slammed France, with Bordeaux in the southwest recording 41.9C on the 22nd. The country's most severe red alert was issued for 54 regions nationwide, with temperatures likely to rise further from the 23rd. The warning covers about 39 million people.

Alert over extreme heatwave

The red alert signals an 'extreme heatwave' that can cause serious health problems for residents and also raises fears of drought. Air conditioning is less widespread in France than in countries such as Japan, and meteorologists have warned the damage could rival the 2003 heatwave that killed about 15,000 people nationwide.

Schools and daily life affected

The heatwave is being driven by hot air moving north from the Sahara Desert and has spread to Spain and Portugal. Across France on the 22nd, about 1,350 primary and middle schools were closed and about 4,000 schools brought forward dismissal times. On the 21st, three elderly people died at home in the southwest, and on the 22nd, two children aged 2 and 4 were found dead in a car in the southeast. All may have died from heatstroke, it said.

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