Athletes wore ice vests and spectators held fans as a heat wave hit the Olympics.

Temperatures are expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius. A heat warning has been issued for Paris and the surrounding area.

Code yellow, the second of four weather levels, applies in the capital, and code orange applies in Bordeaux and Lyon.

The sailing competitions take place in Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast in the south of France. Competitors wore ice vests to combat the heat.

A severe storm warning is also in effect for Paris and its surrounding suburbs. There is a chance of severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall from 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT).

New Zealand rower Thomas Mackintosh said it felt “like 40 degrees” when he was on the water in Paris.

“At first it’s not so bad when you get out on the water, but as your heart rate goes up you suddenly start to feel the heat a lot more,” he told Reuters.

A number of events on Tuesday will take place outdoors, including the dressage qualification in Versailles and the BMX freestyle qualifications at Place de la Concorde.

Spain will also play a men’s football match against Egypt in Bordeaux.

Signs at the venues advised spectators to wear a hat, drink plenty of fluids and use sunscreen.

Organizers have an emergency plan for each sport and location. For example, some sports have a specific temperature limit where play cannot continue if the temperature is higher than that limit.

There are over 300 water fountains around the city and shaded areas are available in some locations.

“There probably won’t be any major cancellations, but we will look at it on a case-by-case basis,” Paris 2024 chief operating officer Lambis Konstantinidis told BBC Sport on Tuesday.

“We don’t endanger anyone.”

A recent report by climate scientists and heat physiologists (who study the impact of heat stress on the human body) at the University of Portsmouth in the UK found that average temperatures in the French capital have risen by 3.1 °C (5.6 °F) since 1924 during the period hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Village was originally designed not to require air conditioning, but concerns about the heat led to the installation of 2,500 temporary cooling units.

The men’s triathlon was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed after tests showed the water quality was not clean enough to conduct the swim.

Heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday has caused water quality to deteriorate, and the predicted storms could further affect this.