Niort in western France saw the hottest July day since records began in 1959. A family stands with their feet in the river Charente in Angouleme, western France. By Wednesday morning, there were only two départements on the orange alert - Alier and Puy-de-Dome, both in central France. Lightening has already struck the western parts of France on Wednesday morning. French weather agency Météo France predicted a storms to move in from the west, together with significant drops in temperature.

Source: The Local July 20, 2016 08:26 UTC