France has recorded its hottest May day since modern records began, as a persistent heat dome traps sweltering conditions over much of the country. Météo France reported that 352 weather stations, mainly in the west, logged new monthly highs on Sunday, with the mercury reaching 37.1°C near Hossegor, close to Biarritz. Climate scientists describe the event as unprecedented for this time of year, with a statistical probability of roughly one in a thousand based on data stretching back to 1979.
The heat dome — a stationary high-pressure system that locks in hot air and is becoming more frequent due to human-driven climate change — is expected to keep temperatures elevated across France in the coming days. Forecasters warn that maximum daytime temperatures will hit 35°C in Nantes on Monday, while Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, and Bordeaux will reach 34°C. Even northern cities such as Lille are set to see 30°C.
The heatwave has already been linked to several fatalities, including a 53-year-old runner who collapsed and died during a race in Paris on Sunday. These incidents have reignited debate about how well France is prepared for the kind of extreme heat that scientists say will become more common as the planet warms.
Is France Getting Hotter?
Last year, France endured a series of heatwaves, with temperatures climbing above 40°C in some regions. Dozens of départements were placed under orange alert, and the Aude region experienced one of the country's worst wildfires in half a century, fuelled by hot, dry conditions. Across the European Union, 2025 was the worst year on record for wildfires, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
C3S data shows that France experienced above-average conditions throughout the summer of 2025, with most of the country recording at least 15 more 'summer days' — when the maximum air temperature reaches at least 25°C — than the long-term average. Southwestern France saw some of the largest anomalies, with temperatures rising around 6°C above the seasonal maximum.
Following last year's scorching summer, a rapid analysis by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that climate change was responsible for roughly 68 percent of the 24,000 heat-related deaths across 854 European cities, by driving temperatures up to 3.6°C above what they would have been otherwise. The study attributed 1,444 of those deaths to France, with Paris recording one of the highest tolls.
Is France Prepared for Intense Heat?
In 2023, the city of Paris launched the 'Paris at 50°C' crisis exercise in two arrondissements, designed to test the city's readiness for extreme heat. The initiative brought together urban planners, health experts, scientists, and public authorities to assess vulnerabilities in housing, healthcare, energy, and public space.
As part of the drill, around 70 children were taken into a dark tunnel that maintains a constant 18°C. Once underground, they acted out scenarios simulating the effects of extreme temperatures, including food poisoning from spoiled food during a power outage and carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty generator. Red Cross workers used the staged emergencies to triage patients, aware that public health systems become overwhelmed during heatwaves. Firefighters, city officials, and teachers also participated, simulating the chaos of a real event.
A review of the exercise warned that extreme heat poses a serious threat to public health in France, particularly among vulnerable communities. It also found that infrastructure such as the metro and rail lines is at risk from high temperatures. The report urged Paris to become an 'oasis city' by increasing vegetation, creating more shaded public spaces, reducing heat-retaining surfaces, and adapting schools and public facilities.
Paris, like many European cities, suffers from the urban heat island effect, where concrete and asphalt absorb heat and keep temperatures elevated. The widespread use of air conditioning units, while essential for many, only exacerbates this effect.
“The countries that will fare best in the coming decade are not the ones with the most money — they are the ones that treat heat as a public health emergency rather than a weather story,” Ionna Vergini, founder of weather forecast service WFY24, told Euronews Earth.
What Is France Doing to Tackle Extreme Heat?
Paris has undergone a significant transformation over the past two decades, aiming to become greener. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 100,000 trees have been planted in the city since 2020, including 40,000 over the winter of 2023. Since 2020, over 6,000 parking spaces and 1.3 hectares of asphalt have been removed to make way for greenery. By 2024, nearly 100 Parisian streets featured planters, allowing nature to coexist with urban life. Trees and plants also improve air quality, an added benefit for polluted cities.
“These transformations will be simplified and become the norm thanks to the future bioclimatic Local Urban Plan (PLUb), which sets in stone Paris’s evolution towards more vegetation and nature, working towards the goal of 300 hectares of additional natural spaces in the city,” the IUCN states.
At the national level, France published its roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels during the Santa Marta fossil fuel summit in April, focusing on electrification. The country is also grappling with the broader implications of extreme heat, as highlighted by a late May heat dome that pushed Western Europe to record temperatures. Meanwhile, the debate over cooling technology continues, with comparisons between heat pumps and air conditioning becoming increasingly relevant for European households.
As the heat dome persists, the question is no longer whether France will face more extreme heat, but how quickly it can adapt to a climate that is already changing.
