France Records Nearly 8,000 Excess Deaths During Severe Summer Heatwaves

Paris, September France has recorded nearly 8,000 excess deaths during a succession of intense heatwaves this summer, according to preliminary figures released by France’s national public health agency. The data underline the substantial health impact of the country’s exceptionally hot 2026 summer.

Santé publique France reported at least 817 excess deaths between July 27 and August 20, when 79 departments across mainland France were affected by a prolonged heatwave. The affected areas represented about 89% of the mainland population.

The latest figure adds to earlier estimates of at least 5,764 excess deaths between June 17 and July 2 and another 1,243 between July 3 and July 20. A separate early heat episode in May also produced an estimated 95 excess deaths.

When the episodes are combined, health authorities’ preliminary assessment puts the summer’s excess mortality at roughly 7,900 deaths, although the final figure has not yet been established. The data are based on all-cause mortality rather than only deaths where heat was formally recorded as the medical cause.

Older people were particularly affected. During the July 27-August 20 heatwave, at least 751 of the 817 excess deaths were among people aged 75 and above, according to the public health agency.

France’s weather service has described the summer of 2026 as exceptionally hot. The country experienced repeated periods of extreme temperatures, with heat affecting a large portion of the population for extended periods.

Health authorities have stressed that the current numbers are preliminary. Mortality data are still being consolidated, and the complete assessment of the summer’s heat-related impact is expected after the monitoring period concludes.

The figures are likely to intensify discussions about how French cities, healthcare services and homes can better protect vulnerable residents during extreme heat. Public-health experts have emphasized early prevention, access to cooling and monitoring of people particularly vulnerable to high temperatures.

The 2026 experience has also renewed attention on the relationship between increasingly intense heat events and climate change. Scientists generally associate the rising frequency and intensity of extreme heat with human-caused global warming, although individual mortality figures require careful statistical assessment.

France is now expected to use the data from this summer to evaluate its heat-warning and public-health measures ahead of future extreme-temperature events.