Paris, July 22 (dpa/GNA) – France’s heatwave in June caused an estimated 5,764 excess deaths, according to preliminary calculations by the country’s public health authorities.
Between June 17 and July 2, when temperature records were broken and highs exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country, overall mortality was 36% higher than would normally be expected, the authorities said on Wednesday, citing provisional data.
The excess mortality highlights the severe impact of the heatwave, although it did not reach the scale of France’s devastating 2003 heatwave, which claimed around 15,000 lives. People aged 75 and older accounted for about two-thirds of the additional deaths in the June period, the authorities said.
The sharpest increase in mortality was recorded in the Paris metropolitan area, where deaths rose by 81.2% above expected levels. The Grand Est region, in the north-east, was also among the hardest hit.
Following the deadly 2003 heatwave, France significantly strengthened its public health response to periods of extreme heat. Authorities now pay particular attention to older people, especially those living alone, while cities open air-conditioned public spaces and cooling centres during heatwaves.
In Germany, an estimated 5,100 people died from heat-related causes during the heatwave that began in mid-June, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country’s disease control and prevention institute.
GNA