France Records Over 5,700 Excess Deaths During June Heatwave

France recorded 5,764 more deaths than usual during a record-breaking heatwave last month, health authorities said on Wednesday, July 22. This figure represents the highest excess mortality rate during a heatwave in the country since a devastating episode of high temperatures in 2003 that killed around 15,000 people.

Three heatwaves have swept across France since May, part of increasingly frequent extreme weather events linked by scientists to man-made climate change. The soaring temperatures caused disruption in a country where many homes, schools, and hospitals are not designed for heat and lack air conditioning. They also dried up riverbeds and sparked wildfires, including one that last week ravaged a tenth of the vast UNESCO-listed forest of Fontainebleau outside Paris.

Santé Publique France stated that the extra deaths between June 17 and July 2 were due to "all causes," with none yet clearly linked to the heat; final figures are expected in the fall. Of the excess deaths last month, approximately two-thirds were people aged 75 or older, while less than a fifth were aged 45 to 64. Half of these deaths occurred in just three days, from June 25 to 27.

Last month, France recorded its hottest June since records began in 1947, with temperatures spiking above 40°C in many areas. The average temperatures on June 24 and 25, 2026, were the highest ever recorded in France across all months. Deaths in the Paris region rose by 80%.