France recorded more than 7,300 excess deaths during periods of high temperatures this year, as the country endured a record number of heatwave days and temperatures reached levels not previously observed across mainland France.
Santé Publique France said on Wednesday that it had recorded 1,243 more deaths than usual between July 2 and 22. The figure followed 5,764 excess deaths between June 17 and 30 and another 300 deaths identified during the year’s first period of high temperatures in late May, bringing the total to 7,307.
The deaths were recorded from all causes and cannot yet be definitively attributed to extreme heat, the health agency said. Final figures are expected in the autumn.
Nearly three-quarters of the additional deaths “concern people aged 75 and over”, while the impact was recorded across “all age groups from 45 and over”, according to the health ministry.
The figures emerged as France experienced three heatwaves in rapid succession. The first lasted 14 days in June, followed by a 16-day period in July and a third heatwave that began in late July and had lasted 22 days as of Tuesday without officially being declared over.
Together, the three episodes have given France 52 days of heatwaves since mid-June, according to an Agence France-Presse analysis. The country has had only two periods of respite during that time, lasting three and eight days respectively.
The number of heatwave days in 2026 has already surpassed previous records. France recorded 33 heatwave days in 2022, while the deadly summer of 2003 saw 22 days. This year has therefore produced more heatwave days than any other year since records began in 1947.
The scale of the heat has also been reflected in national temperature records. June 24 and 25 were the hottest days ever recorded on average across mainland France, according to Meteo-France’s national temperature indicator, which combines daytime and nighttime readings from 30 reference weather stations.
The indicator reached 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record established in 2003.
Yet the comparison with 2003 remains complex. More than 15,000 people died in France during that year’s extreme heat, although the principal heatwave was concentrated over about two weeks in August after a less severe episode in June. The August 2003 heatwave remains the most severe recorded based on an indicator combining the duration and intensity of heat.
The latest heatwave, meanwhile, has become the second-longest recorded nationwide. At 22 days and counting, it is approaching the 23-day heatwave recorded in July 1983.
The persistence of extreme temperatures has also highlighted France’s vulnerability to prolonged heat. Parts of the country are considered ill-equipped to cope with severe heat, while air-conditioning remains scarce.
The trend extends beyond France. Western Europe experienced its hottest start to summer on record, with repeated heatwaves in June and July contributing to widespread drought and devastating wildfires fuelled by global warming.
More than half of the 54 heatwaves recorded in France since 1947 have occurred since 2010, according to the analysis, underlining how increasingly frequent prolonged periods of extreme heat have become.
Meteo-France defines a national heatwave as a period lasting several days during which temperatures remain significantly above normal. It begins when the national temperature indicator reaches or exceeds 25.3 degrees for one day and the national average remains at or above 23.4 degrees for at least three consecutive days.
A heatwave ends when the indicator falls below 23.4 degrees for at least three consecutive days or briefly drops below 22.4 degrees. A period of unusually warm weather in May, for example, did not meet the threshold required to qualify as a national heatwave.
With the latest spell still continuing, France’s final heat-related mortality figures will not be known until later in the year, leaving the current total of 7,307 excess deaths subject to further revision.
