Friday, 03 July 2026
Friday, 03 July 2026
France, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded 3,700 excess deaths during the June heatwave that sent temperatures soaring across Europe, with authorities warning that the numbers are preliminary and could rise.
Experts have said the heatwave, which lasted from about June 20-28, was the worst recorded in Europe, causing disruption to power generation, damaging infrastructure and overwhelming healthcare systems. The extreme heat was almost certainly driven by climate change, scientists said.
There were 2,025 excess deaths recorded in France during the heatwave, with a particular increase in deaths among people aged over 45, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist told local television on Friday.
The new and still incomplete figures from Public Health France doubled its first preliminary estimate of at least 1,000 additional deaths that it gave last Sunday. That earlier estimate covered just three of the hottest days of extreme, deadly heat.
In Paris, funeral service directors have said they've struggled to find places to store bodies before burial or cremation, with some mortuaries saying they were full and having to turn bodies away.
The updated tally of deaths from Public Health France spans the week of June 22 to June 28, during which France saw its hottest-ever days and records shattered for peak daytime and nighttime temperatures in many cities and towns across the country. The heat also broke temperature records in many other parts of Europe.
Public Health France said it has counted 8,973 deaths so far for that week, cautioning that the number is still only partial. It said the preliminary total was 29 per cent more than the 6,948 deaths registered for the previous week of June 15 to June 21, when the heat wave started.
The difference between the two sets of figures - a total so far of 2,025 - is therefore considered to be additional deaths from one week to the next, from all causes and covering all age groups, it said.
At the Paris-Saclay Hospital, patients suffering from heat exposure started arriving in a surge on June 20, Dr. Nicolas Gonzales, head of the emergency department, told The Associated Press.
He said they treated heat victims for heart attacks, dehydration, kidney malfunctions and other heat-related problems, from children to older people living alone.
Deaths at home rose 91 per cent between June 22-28 compared to the previous week, while deaths in nursing homes and healthcare facilities also increased, the country's public health authority said in a bulletin.
"Mortality will ... be higher than these initial figures suggest," the authority warned.
'Unprecedented' mortality data
In Belgium, the Health Ministry said on Thursday it had registered excess mortality of about 1,200 deaths between June 18 and June 29, adding that 530 of the deaths were among people aged 85 or older. People aged under 65 accounted for 180 of the excess deaths.
"Such excess mortality during a heatwave is unprecedented in our country," the ministry said in a statement.
Authorities in the Netherlands said the heatwave led to about 480 excess deaths, mainly among the over 80s.
