Paris, Sept. 17 (SANA) Nearly 8,000 excess deaths were recorded in France during successive heatwaves from late May through Aug. 20, as the country experienced its hottest summer since measurements began in 1900, according to French public health figures reported by AFP on Thursday.
The preliminary toll reached 7,919 excess deaths and could rise as authorities complete data collection, AFP reported, citing France’s public health authority. By comparison, 5,722 excess deaths linked to high temperatures were recorded between June and mid-September 2025.
“This summer of 2026 was completely unprecedented, with almost continuous heatwave episodes,” Guillaume Boulanger, head of the living and working environments unit at France’s public health authority, told AFP.
Older people were particularly affected, with a rise in excess deaths recorded shortly after the hottest days in mid-August.
Météo-France said summer 2026 was the hottest recorded in the country since measurements began in 1900, surpassing 2003 and 2022. France experienced three heatwaves totaling a record 53 days during the season.
The 2003 heatwave remains a major reference point for heat-related mortality in France, having resulted in about 15,000 deaths
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