FRANCE RECORDS AROUND 7,000 EXCESS DEATHS AMID HEAT WAVES THROUGH LATE JULY

Sat 05 September 2026:

France recorded around 7,000 excess deaths through the end of July amid successive heat waves across the country, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Friday.

A new assessment put the number of excess deaths through the end of July at 7,000 as France saw several heat waves during the summer, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

The previous estimated figure reportedly stood at over 5,000.

“We have been suffering from repeated heat waves for three months. There are some observations we can make: our health care system is holding up, and we have excess mortality of 7,000 people who died by the end of July,” Rist told broadcaster France 2.

She said the deaths mainly involved people living alone and in isolation in large cities.

Comparing the figure with the 2003 heat wave, which caused nearly 15,000 deaths, Rist said there would “probably be fewer excess deaths in nursing homes” and that there had been “lessons learned, with professionals better trained and cooled rooms.”

She acknowledged that they still had things to do while the final data are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

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El Niño Adds to Complex Climate Pattern

The summer’s weather also unfolded against a backdrop of El Niño-related climate variability, which can influence global atmospheric circulation and contribute to shifts in temperature and rainfall patterns. However, scientists stress that El Niño alone cannot explain the exceptional warmth recorded in the UK and Europe.

The Met Office said the UK’s average summer temperature was made around 130 times more likely by human-caused climate change, highlighting the growing influence of long-term global warming on extreme weather.

Scientists say rising global temperatures are increasing the likelihood of unusually hot seasons, while changes in atmospheric circulation and natural climate patterns such as El Niño can further shape regional weather conditions.

The UK’s provisional record comes amid growing evidence that European summers are becoming hotter and more prone to extreme weather, reinforcing concerns over the accelerating impacts of climate change.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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