France recorded at least 5,700 more deaths than usual during last month’s historic heat wave, the public health agency said Wednesday, sharply increasing its estimate of the expected number of record temperatures.
Public Health in France said that the areas hit by the heat from June 17 to July 2 recorded 21,674 deaths from all causes. Without a heatwave, those same areas would have been expected to see a much lower number of deaths, or 15,910, based on statistical modeling using data from previous years, she added.
The agency said the difference between expected and actual deaths – a total of 5,764 – is therefore considered “excess” deaths during the heatwave.
She said the excess death rate, 36% higher than normally expected, was the highest of any heatwave since 2003. A historic heatwave that year killed an estimated 15,000 people in France.
France recorded its hottest days on record on June 24 and 25 this year – with a national average of 30°C (86°F) – as well as record night heat and peak temperatures that rose above 40°C (104°F) in many places.
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Just over half of the unexpected deaths occurred during and in the immediate aftermath of that hottest period, over a three-day period from June 25 to June 27, the Public Health Agency said.
The Paris region appears to be the most affected, with 1,999 unexpected deaths recorded – about 80% more than would have been expected without a heatwave.
Nearly half of the more than 21,600 people who died in hospitals died. The agency said that about a third of them died in their homes, while the rest were mostly in nursing homes.
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