France has recorded more than 7 300 excess deaths during heatwaves this year, health authorities said on Wednesday.
Excess deaths are the number of deaths above what would normally be expected for the time of year.
The country has been hit by three heatwaves in quick succession: a 14-day spell in June, 16 days in July, and another lasting 22 days that began in late July and has yet to be officially declared over as of August 18.
Together they mean France has endured a record 52 days of heatwaves since mid-June, according to an analysis by news agency AFP. Parts of the country are poorly equipped to deal with heat, and air conditioning is scarce.
The country has had only two periods of respite, lasting three and eight days respectively, since the first heatwave began on June 17.
Breaking down the death toll
The national public health agency, Santé Publique France, said it recorded 1 243 more deaths than usual between July 2 and 22.
That added to the 5 764 excess deaths recorded from June 17 to 30, and 300 deaths identified so far during the year’s first period of high temperatures in late May, bringing the total to 7 307.
Nearly three-quarters of the extra deaths concerned people aged 75 and over, though they affected all age groups from 45 and over, the health ministry said.
The deaths were due to all causes and cannot yet be definitively attributed to the heat, the agency said. Final figures are expected in the autumn.
Second longest recorded heatwave
France has recorded more heatwave days this year than in any other year since records began in 1947.
he previous standout year, 2022, also saw three separate heatwaves, but their combined duration was almost 20 days shorter than this year’s total.
The number of heatwave days this year far exceeds the 33 days recorded in 2022 and the 22 days seen during the deadly summer of 2003, according to the AFP analysis of data from the national weather service, Météo-France.
Extreme heat contributed to more than 15 000 deaths in France in 2003, but the main heatwave was concentrated over about two weeks in August, following a less severe week-long episode in June.
The August 2003 heatwave remains the most severe observed to date, based on an indicator that combines heat duration and intensity.
But this year has set another milestone, with June 24 and 25 the hottest days ever recorded on average across mainland France. The national temperature indicator, which combines daytime and nighttime readings from 30 weather stations, reached 30°C, surpassing the previous record set in 2003.
The heatwave that began in late July has become the second-longest recorded nationwide. At 22 days and counting, it is just short of the 23-day heatwave recorded in July 1983.
More than half of the 54 heatwaves France has experienced since 1947 have occurred since 2010.
What counts as a heatwave
Météo-France defines a national heatwave as a period lasting several days during which temperatures are significantly higher than normal.
A heatwave begins when the temperature indicator reaches or exceeds 25.3°C for one day and the national average temperature remains at or above 23.4°C for at least three consecutive days.
It ends when it drops below 23.4°C for at least three days in a row or falls briefly below 22.4°C.
A spell of unusually warm weather in May, for example, was not intense enough to meet France’s threshold for a heatwave.
Heat beyond France
Western Europe experienced its hottest start to summer on record, with recurring heatwaves in June and July causing widespread drought and devastating wildfires fuelled by global warming.
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