On 16 June, Météo-France activated its red alert in 12 departments and its orange alert in another 25 because of the heat wave. The departments on red alert were mainly those located in the southwest, along the Atlantic coast and the south; the heat was generally less severe further north and east. The heat wave was the earliest in the year since records began and marked the fourth time that a red heat alert had been issued since the protocol was activated after the 2003 heat wave.[10]