France records 1,000 excess deaths during record-breaking heatwave

PARIS – France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heatwave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on June 28, warning that the true figure was likely to be higher.

Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and homes.

Europeans have been enduring blistering conditions during a heatwave that has been linked to dozens of deaths – shattering records, disrupting power generation and damaging infrastructure.

Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, where the climate is changing faster than the global average.

The heatwave has been moving east. But while France’s weather agency said the extreme heat had diminished in most parts of the country, some areas in the north-east were still under a heatwave advisory.

Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune newspaper that the impact of the heatwave could linger for as long as 10 days after the weather had ebbed.

“The episode is not finished,” she told broadcaster BFM.

Most of the deaths involved people aged 65 and older, though the health effects of the extreme heat affected all categories of the population, Sante Publique said. REUTERS