France recorded 480 additional deaths during early summer heatwave

France recorded 480 deaths above normal levels during the heatwave that hit the country between June 19 and July 6, representing a 5.5% increase, the national public health agency said on Wednesday (23).

This provisional count will be analyzed in conjunction with an estimate of mortality specifically attributable to heat, in a report to be published after September 15.

The report noted that people over 75 years of age accounted for “almost all” of the excess mortality from all recorded causes in the departments affected by the “intense heat episode, notable for its duration and early onset.”

This excess mortality estimate is based on all-cause mortality data from civil registration offices and reported by the National Institute of Statistics (Insee), compared with the expected number of deaths based on the previous six years, excluding extreme events.

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