A heatwave continued to grip southern France on Monday, with six departments under an orange warning and temperatures forecast to reach 39°C, according to Meteo-France, as cited by broadcaster BFMTV.

The departments of Aude, Herault, Gard, Vaucluse, Drome and Ardeche remained under the orange alert as temperatures stayed above 20°C across much of the southern half of the country early on Monday.

Temperatures reached 26°C in Nice, while Montpellier recorded 23°C and Nimes and Montelimar 21°C, according to the national weather service.

Daytime temperatures were expected to rise to between 35°C and 38°C across the southeast, with some areas forecast to reach 39°C.

Meteo-France said temperatures would ease slightly on Tuesday before falling significantly on Wednesday as a band of rain and thunderstorms moves across the region.

The orange heatwave warning is scheduled to be lifted across all affected departments on Tuesday morning.

Several locations recorded unprecedented September temperatures on Sunday.

Albi in the Tarn department reached 39.2°C, Auch in Gers 38.4°C, Toulouse-Blagnac 37.9°C, Marseille-Marignane 36.8°C and Aurillac 34°C.

In Durban-Corbieres, in the Aude department, temperatures climbed to 40.8°C, setting a new national record for September.

The latest heatwave is part of a series of intense heat events recorded in France this year.

One episode in late June reached record intensity, whilse another, extending from late July into August, lasted 23 days and matched France’s longest heatwave on record, set in 1983.