The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded around 1,300 more deaths than expected in the past week, with more than 1,000 recorded in France alone, as tens of millions brave a week of extreme temperatures across the continent of 381 million people.
French health authorities said on Sunday that preliminary figures showed approximately 1,000 excess deaths compared with mortality levels recorded in previous months since June 24, warning that the toll was likely to rise as the data remained unconsolidated.
According to the Public Health France, the hardest-hit areas were those placed under the highest red heat alert, where prolonged temperatures above 40C created particularly dangerous conditions. Around 85% of the excess deaths involved people aged 65 and over.
Health officials said the most significant increase was in deaths occurring at home, especially in the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris and its surrounding suburbs, highlighting the vulnerability of elderly and isolated residents during extreme weather.
In Geneva, the WHO said that over 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21. “Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
Millions of people across the continent are currently “living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling”, he warned.
The heatwave began easing across France on Sunday after several days of exceptionally high temperatures that saw the mercury climb above 40C in parts of the Europe, bringing some relief following one of the most intense early summer heat episodes in recent years.
Germany and Italy endured sweltering conditions over the weekend after temperatures broke records above 40C (104F). Denmark registered its highest temperature on record on Saturday, according to the Danish meteorological institute.
“With 36.6C north of Odense, we have the warmest day ever since measurements began in 1874,” it said in a post on X. Slovakia confirmed that Friday night was its warmest on record, with temperatures not dropping below 26.3C.
In the UK, a teenager, two men and a woman died on Saturday after getting into difficulty swimming in open water. Along with a death on Friday and another on Wednesday last week, it brings the total number of drownings during the recent heatwave to six.
A German record of 41.3C was reached near the city of Saarbrucken close to the French border on Friday, a spokesperson for Germany’s national meteorological service said, noting the reading was still preliminary.
The French prime minister’s office said although the heatwave was moving on, pressure on the healthcare system would persist and hospital admissions would stay high for several days. Reports of wildfires in France are up compared with the same period last year, officials say.
The heatwave has pushed temperatures up to 18C above their seasonal average, according to the Reuters climate monitor, driven by a phenomenon known as an omega block, in which hot air is trapped over regions for extended periods with cooler air on its fringes.
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