The French Public Health Agency reported on the 3rd local time that under the influence of the late June heatwave, the number of officially recorded deaths in France from June 22 to 28 increased by nearly 30% compared to the previous week, with excess deaths surpassing 2,000 cases.
According to a report by China News Service, data from the French Public Health Agency show that from June 22 to 28, a total of 8,973 deaths were recorded through France's electronic death certificate system, compared with 6,948 deaths the previous week, resulting in 2,025 excess deaths. The agency stated that the increase in deaths was mainly concentrated among people aged 45 and above, with this age group seeing 2,001 more deaths than the previous week. Under persistent high temperatures, the number of deaths at home rose by 91% compared with the previous week, while deaths in nursing homes and medical health institutions also rose by 37% and 19.7%, respectively.
By region, most areas of mainland France recorded increases in deaths through the electronic death certificate system compared to the previous week, with the Paris region seeing the most significant rise, at 62.8%.
The heatwave health monitoring report released by the French Public Health Agency on the same day shows that from June 18 to 29, there were 6,351 hospital admissions via emergency departments related to high temperatures, about two-thirds of which involved people aged 75 and above. The report said that during the heatwave, cases of heatstroke and dehydration and other high-temperature–related incidents increased significantly, leading to a rise in emergency department admissions.
The Actual Number of Deaths May Be Higher
The French Public Health Agency stated that the relevant data are still preliminary statistics, and the real number of deaths may be higher. A further assessment report on deaths during the late June heatwave is expected to be released in mid-this month.
The heatwave in late June affected most areas of France, with temperatures in many places exceeding 40 degrees Celsius for several consecutive days, and high temperature records in many towns being broken during this period.