PARIS
Twelve years after France’s deadly "Canicule" in 2003, the country is on alert over a heat wave starting from Tuesday till next week.
The French national weather forecast agency, Meteo France, said in a statement: "As of Tuesday, June 30, a canicule (heat wave) will sweep the country."
Meteo France said that the current "intense heat wave” would be the strongest since the summer of 2006.
The agency issued an "orange alert" - the second highest warning level - at 26 departments around France and called on people to stay "very vigilant".
"The maximum temperatures will often exceed 35 Celsius and likely reach 40 Celsius," it added.
In the summer of 2003, around 70,000 people, most of them elderly, died in Europe following a heat wave, according to the French National Institute of Health.
According to the agency, the heat wave will start in the south of the country then gradually move northwards throughout the week.
"I don’t think this heat wave will have the same consequences as the one in 2003 because we weren’t as prepared at that time," French Ecology Minister, Segolene Royal, told reporters.
Since 2003, France has been applying a "National Canicule plan" from June 1 to August 31 in anticipation of the arrival of any possible heat wave.
