Hottest June on record in France as heat-related deaths rise alarmingly | Climate Crisis News

The temperature between June 24 and 25 this year was the highest ever recorded in the country.

France had its hottest June since records began in 1947 as a heat wave pushed temperatures above 40C in many places, according to its weather service.

“Unprecedented heat, day and night, affected a third of the country” during the heat wave from June 17 to June 30, Meteo-France said on Friday.

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“During this historic period, temperatures of 40C exceeded 40 percent of the country once,” it said, adding that the country saw an average temperature of 22.7C, 3.8C higher than the average climate from 1991 to 2020.

The temperature between June 24 and 25 this year was the highest ever recorded in France, for all months combined.

The they also broke heat records in other parts of Europe.

heatwave history in France this year has caused the death toll to rise, as schools have been closed and festivals cancelled.

Public Health France, the country’s health watchdog, said deaths rose by 29 percent in the hottest week of last month, with at least 2,000 more deaths reported than in the previous week as the heat overwhelmed hospitals and affected people.

New and incomplete figures from Public Health France increased the initial estimate of at least 1,000 deaths on Sunday. That original estimate covered only three of the hottest days.

The death toll from Public Health France covers the week of June 22 to June 28, when France saw its hottest days and records being broken due to extreme temperatures day and night in many cities and towns in the country.

The agency said it has counted 8,973 people who have died so far that week, warning that the number is still low. The initial number was 29 percent more than the 6,948 people who died in the last week of June 15 to June 21, when the heat began.

The difference between the two figures – 2,025 so far – appears to be an increase in deaths from one week to the next, from all causes and affecting all age groups, it said.

In the capital Paris, funeral directors said they were struggling to find places to hold bodies before burial or cremation, with some crematoriums said to be full and forced to turn away others.

Patients suffering from heatstroke began arriving at Paris-Saclay Hospital on June 20, emergency department director Dr. Nicolas Gonzales told the Associated Press.

He said he treats people affected by heatstroke, dehydration, kidney damage and other heat-related problems, from children to the elderly who live alone.

Public Health France says there is a significant week-on-week increase in deaths in public housing, – up by 91 percent. Deaths in nursing homes rose by 37 percent and in hospitals by nearly 20 percent.

The Paris region appears to have been hit hardest, with the number of deaths increasing by 63 from one week to the next, it said.

The health agency warned that its figures underestimate the true number because they are based on incomplete data. “Therefore, the number of deaths will be higher than these initial figures,” it said.