France's Orange Heat Alert: How the System Works | RainViewer Blog

TL;DR: France’s heat vigilance system exists because the summer of 2003 found the country with no alert scheme at all. The Plan National Canicule was created straight after August 2003 and its estimated 14,800 excess deaths Four levels: green, yellow, orange, red, each with defined thresholds and actions Orange marks a confirmed heat-wave episode and turns health advice into active instructions The real jump from yellow to orange is institutional, not just a change of colour A vigilance level covers a whole department, not one specific town The heat-wave vigilance system France uses today did