France recorded over 5,700 excess deaths in June due to heatwave, say authorities

France recorded 5,764 more deaths than usual during the heatwave in June, AFP quoted the country’s health authorities as saying on Wednesday.

The authorities described the excess mortality among persons aged 15 years and above as “unprecedented”.

The data pertains to the time period between June 17 and July 2, and accounts for deaths due to “all causes”, AFP quoted the country’s national public health agency as saying.

No deaths have been clearly linked to the heat as of now, and final figures will be released in the autumn, the agency said.

People aged 75 years and above accounted for around two-thirds of the excess deaths, while less than a fifth were aged between 45 years and 64 years.

Half of the people died in the three days from June 25 to June 27, AFP quoted the agency as saying.

In 2025 as well, France had reported 5,722 excess deaths due to high temperatures between June and mid-September.

This year, France recorded its hottest June since records began in 1947, with temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country, the news agency reported.

Deaths in the Paris region rose by 80% and had doubled during the week from June 22 to June 28, AFP quoted the health agency as saying.

Heatwave in Europe

The World Health Organization on June 28 said that more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded in Europe since June 21 because of high temperatures.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave” was now occurring nearly annually. “We were warned,” he said on social media.

Ghebreyesus said that heat stress was a “silent killer” because European homes, workplaces and schools are not built for the high temperatures.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.