France broke its all-time temperature record on June 24, 2026. The mercury climbed past 40°C in Paris for two straight days, a mark the capital has crossed only five times since 1947, according to Météo-France, the national weather service.
The heat did not stay in the capital. In Poitiers, temperatures hit 41.2°C on a single day, breaking a record that had stood since 1947. In Pissos, in southwestern France, the thermometer reached 42.2°C.
The heat has killed people across France. At least 18 deaths were linked to the heatwave, including two children found unconscious in a car in Carpentras.
“It’s very, very hard because the zinc is very hot. The welds don’t hold,” said Gin Dujardin, a Paris roofer forced to stop work because of the heat. “It’s Dubai temperatures. It’s impossible.”
France has also recorded 40 drowning deaths in the past week, as people sought relief in rivers and lakes despite warnings against unsupervised swimming.
The country’s national health authority reported 1,000 more deaths than usual for this period, a number officials expect to rise. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said ambulance services handled more than 122,000 calls during the peak of the heatwave.
A Brief Pause, Then More Heat
Storms over the weekend pushed temperatures back toward normal levels. But forecasters say the relief will not last long.
Météo-France expects heat to return by early July, with daytime highs climbing to 28°C or 30°C across northern France. A third major heatwave could follow the week of July 6, according to weather group La Chaîne Météo.
“There is a strong probability that, starting the week after, we will return to extreme heat… until July 14,” said Monique Barbut, France’s minister for ecological transition, in an interview with FranceInter.
A third heatwave this early in the summer would be unprecedented in France.
Dry Soil Makes It Worse
Repeated heatwaves are drying out French soil, raising the risk of water shortages and crop damage. Dry soil cannot cool the air at night the way moist soil does. Instead, it reflects heat back into the atmosphere, making the next heatwave worse.
“The feedback loop between heat and dry soil, where each exacerbates the other, leaves us vulnerable to a repeat of what we are currently experiencing,” said Régis Crépet, a climate expert quoted by Connexion France.
Even without a third heatwave, temperatures are expected to stay above normal well into August. Some relief may come from stormier weather later in the summer, though forecasters say nothing is certain yet.
For now, France is bracing for what could be its hottest summer on record — and the heat has only just begun.
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