France’s latest heatwave has killed 2,025 people, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said Friday, as authorities warned the toll could still rise amid a sharp increase in deaths among people over 45.
Rist told French broadcaster TF1 that deaths occurring at home rose 91% compared with the previous week.
France’s National Public Health Agency said nationwide deaths increased nearly 30% between June 22 and June 28, with a 62% rise recorded in the Paris region. The agency also reported a similar increase in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
The agency said about 1,000 additional heat-related deaths had been recorded in just a few days since June 24.
Hospitals across France reported rising admissions for heatstroke, dehydration and other heat-related conditions as the extreme temperatures strained emergency services.
At Paris-Saclay Hospital in the Paris region, staff said they were forced to source ice externally to cool patients, relying on help from local businesses. “We thought we were prepared; in reality we were not,” hospital director Cédric Lussiez told The Associated Press.
A similar shortage was reported at a university hospital in Limoges, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, where demand for cooling exceeded the facility’s ice-making capacity. Local businesses later donated more than a ton of ice to help respond to the surge.
According to French newspaper Le Figaro, the government has ordered 30,000 air-conditioning units for medical facilities to improve preparedness for future heatwaves.
The heatwave also caused wider disruption, with about 50,000 households losing power and cultural and sporting events canceled across multiple cities.
Temperatures reached extreme levels in parts of the country, with pharmacy displays in Paris showing readings as high as 46.5 degrees Celsius (115.7°F), according to Reuters images.
France’s national weather service, Météo-France, said another heatwave with temperatures above 35°C (95°F) is expected to affect parts of the country beginning this weekend.
The current crisis has drawn comparisons with France’s 2003 heatwave, which killed about 15,000 people, mostly elderly residents in care homes and private residences. Officials say this year’s event has been meteorologically more intense, though the final toll remains lower so far.
