Read English DailyEnglish Reading Practice
Cover image for A red alert over France, and heat that may rewrite the record books
C1 DAILY STORY
World 23 Jun 2026

A red alert over France, and heat that may rewrite the record books

France is experiencing scorching heat, with most of the population exposed to extreme temperatures. The heat is expected to last until at least the end of the week.

Image: Daily English Reader / Local generated SVG (Project-owned local asset)

5 min read C1

C1 Version

Click any word for its Thai meaning.

0:00 0:00
France is experiencing scorching heat, with most of the population exposed to extreme temperatures. The heat is expected to last until at least the end of the week. PARIS — Millions of people across France woke up drenched in sweat on Tuesday after another night of scorching heat, with most of the population exposed to extreme and exceptional temperatures. Temperatures will remain exceptionally high around the clock as the national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments under a red heat wave alert. Human-caused climate change is tied to increasing extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records. "Sunshine continues to dominate across France, maintaining oppressive and exhausting heat throughout the country," Meteo France said. "Further record-breaking temperatures are expected, including some that could surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year," Meteo France said. The heat wave is exceptionally intense, coming very early in the summer, "but with a still uncertain duration," the weather service said. It has already been compared to the August 2003 heat wave, when the highest temperatures in over half a century caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them older people in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning. France introduced a heat watch warning system after that heat wave.

Save & Review

Only words saved from this story appear here.