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Heatwave: more than 5,000 deaths during the summer of 2023 in France

2024-02-08T10:53:22.969Z

Highlights: More than 5,000 people died due to heat in France during the summer of 2023. One in ten deaths are linked to extreme heat, according to Public Health France. Of the 5000 dead, 3700 were over 75 years old. This summer remains, despite long periods of gloomy weather, the fourth hottest ever observed in France - the first measurements dating back to 1900. The heatwaves were particularly notable for the late nature of two of them: the longest in August, then a last one in September.


Despite long gloomy periods, one in ten deaths are linked to extreme heat, according to Public Health France.


More than 5,000 people died due to heat in France during the summer of 2023, marked by heatwaves later than normal, the public health agency announced on Thursday.

“Three deaths out of 100 observed during the summer are attributable to the heat, which represents a little more than 5,000 deaths

,” summarized Guillaume Boulanger, researcher at Public Health France, at a press conference.

This estimate - which stands at precisely 5,167 deaths - concerns the entire summer of 2023 and the four heatwave episodes.

Over these periods alone, around 1,500 deaths are attributed to heat, or one in ten.

This summer remains, despite long periods of gloomy weather, the fourth hottest ever observed in France - the first measurements dating back to 1900 - in a context marked by a global acceleration of heatwaves against a backdrop of global warming.

Of the 5000 dead, 3700 were over 75 years old

The heatwaves of 2023 were particularly notable for the late nature of two of them: the longest in August, then a last one in September.

As measured by Public Health France, heat-related mortality is at one of the highest levels in recent years.

It is only less than the 7,000 deaths recorded the previous year, in 2022, and remains far from the 15,000 deaths attributed to the exceptional heatwave of 2003.

As always, the majority of deaths concern the oldest.

Over the entire summer, some 3,700 heat-related deaths affected those over 75.

But

“everyone is affected

,” recalled Caroline Semaille, director general of Public Health France.

Around ten deaths at work are considered, after a census by the Labor Inspectorate, as possibly being linked to heat.

But this figure is probably underestimated, as the agency's researchers pointed out.

And relatively young people can also be at risk because of the lack of insulation in their homes, or the practice of poorly supervised sports, the agency stressed.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2024-02-08

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