Twenty-one regions, covering about a quarter of the country, were put on orange alert -- stage three on a scale of one to four classifying dangerous weather phenomena.

Areas covered stretched from the region of Aquitaine in the southwest to the Loire, the centre of the country, the Alpes-Maritimes around Nice and the Bouches-du-Rhone region around Marseille in the southeast.

The heat intensity warranted very special vigilance especially for people at health risk, or children and old people especially those living alone, the meteorological office said.

On Sunday afternoon temperatures rose up to 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) in many areas, especially in the western Loire region and the south.

An exceptional heatwave in France during the August of 2003 with temperatures as high as 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) caused 14,847 deaths, many of the victims old people.

Emergency services were overwhelmed, with hospitals having to leave the dying on stretchers in corridors through lack of space.

The catastrophe revealed failings in the chain of political decision-making, with heavily compartmentalised government departments unable to anticipate or properly appraise crisis situations. The main government members with responsibility for dealing with the crisis were out of Paris at the time. President Jacques Chirac came under criticism for failing to break off a vacation in Canada promptly.

The latest heatwave was expected to continue and even get worse this week, forecasters said, with temperatures as high as 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in the southwest and centre-west. Nights were expected to be tough too, with temperatures unlikely to drop below 20 degrees (68 Fahrenheit)

Health Warning As Portugal Bakes In Heatwave

Meanwhile, Portuguese meteorological authorities warned Sunday that the danger limit for ultraviolet (UV) rays would be reached in many parts of the country, which is baking in a major heatwave.

According to the Meteorlogical Institute (IM) UV rays will reach the top of the scale in the central Alentejo and southern Algarve regions and on the island of Madeira.

The IM warns that exposure to the sun in these conditions can have serious consequences for the skin, eyes and immune system.

The thermometer is expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places with a peak of 42C (108F) in Santarem, 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Lisbon.

In recent days high levels of ozone pollution have led the authorities to issue warnings in five cities after the limit of 180 microgrammes per cubic metre was breached. On Saturday in Lisbon a rate of 199 microgrammes per cubic metre was recorded.

Nine of the country's 18 mainland districts are subject to an orange alert which warns of a "moderate to high risk to health".

Ozone pollution is particulary dangerous for children, the elderly, and those suffering from respiratory or cardiac illnesses.

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