France reports excess deaths as European heat wave breaks records

France recorded at least 1,000 more deaths than expected during three of the hottest days of a record-setting heat wave, Public Health France said Sunday. The toll underscored the danger facing older people as extreme temperatures strained health systems, transport networks and emergency services across Europe.

The French public health agency said daily deaths rose above 1,200 on Wednesday and topped 1,400 on each of the next two days. Before the heat wave, the agency said France had been recording about 900 to 1,000 deaths a day in April and May.

Public Health France said its estimate is likely to rise as more reports arrive, including deaths in private homes. The agency said the increase was greatest in areas under red extreme-heat alerts, which covered roughly three-quarters of the country at the heat wave’s peak, and that 85% of the deaths involved people aged 65 or older.

Heat records fall across Europe

The Associated Press reported that the heat wave continued shifting east after setting records in several countries. Germany’s weather service, DWD, reported preliminary data showing a nighttime record of 29.4 degrees Celsius, or 84.9 Fahrenheit, in Kubschütz in eastern Saxony on Sunday.

DWD also reported a daytime high of 41.5 C, or 106.7 F, in Möckern-Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt, according to the AP. That reading came after Germany had set a previous record a day earlier.

The Czech Meteorological Institute said the Czech Republic logged its hottest day on record for a second consecutive day. The institute said Doksany, in the north of the country, reached 41.1 C, or 106.4 F, after hitting 40.9 C, or 105.6 F, on Saturday.

A rapid analysis released Friday by World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based scientific collaboration, found that the week’s heat and humidity in Europe would not have occurred without climate change. The group said such conditions would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago and are now 200 times more likely than they were two decades ago.

WHO urges stronger heat plans

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday on X that Europe is warming at twice the global average and is the fastest-warming continent. He said 150 million people were under extreme heat, schools had closed, power grids were under pressure and hundreds had died.

Tedros said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21 in connection with high temperatures. He called heat stress a “silent killer” and said many European buildings were not designed for current temperatures.

The WHO chief urged European governments to put heat-health action plans in place, with stronger preparation, prevention and health-system responses.

Fires, storms and transport disruption

In Germany, the AP reported wildfires in forested areas contaminated with unexploded World War II ammunition. Near Traisen in southwest Germany, the German news agency dpa said firefighters paused work after explosions, and about 650 residents left their homes Sunday afternoon as the fire spread.

Berlin reported 500 additional ambulance dispatches Saturday, most linked to heat, according to the AP. Police in the German capital used water cannons near the Brandenburg Gate to spray crowds seeking relief.

Severe weather followed the heat in parts of Europe. Sweden’s TT news agency reported that lightning injured several people at Tosselilla Sommarland amusement park in Tomelilla, with three adults taken to a hospital. Denmark’s public broadcaster DR said the country recorded 1,156 lightning strikes by Sunday morning.

Germany’s transport system also suffered heat and storm problems, according to dpa. More than 600 passengers were evacuated from an overheated train in Brandenburg after a storm knocked a tree onto an overhead power line, cutting power and air conditioning; dpa said two people were hospitalized with heat-related problems.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.