Heatwave linked to 1,000 excess deaths in France
France’s health agency said most excess deaths were among older people as extreme heat shifted toward eastern Europe.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
France’s public health agency said Sunday that a preliminary review found 1,000 excess deaths during a severe heatwave in Europe. The agency, which reports to the French Ministry of Health, said most of those deaths involved older people and warned that the count could rise as more data comes in from homes and care facilities.
The agency said people aged 65 and older accounted for most of the fatalities, while adding that extreme heat has affected the wider population. French Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune that the health effects could continue for as long as 10 days, and told BFM that the episode was not over.
AFP, dpa and Reuters reported that the heatwave has affected Europe since June 20, forcing some museums and schools to close early. As the hottest conditions shifted east, France’s weather agency said extreme conditions had eased in much of the country, though parts of the northeast remained under a heatwave advisory.
Heat spreads east
AFP estimated that at least 191 million people in Europe were forecast to face temperatures of at least 35 degrees Celsius, or 95 Fahrenheit, on Sunday. The news agency said the heat was expected to be especially strong in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
AFP also reported that Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Austria and western Ukraine were among the areas due to be affected. The shift came after several days of severe heat in western and central Europe.
In Germany, dpa reported that seven people died in swimming accidents over the weekend as residents sought relief in lakes and rivers. German police said two people died in separate swimming incidents in Berlin on Saturday, while in another case a group in a rubber dinghy found an unresponsive man in Jungfernheideteich, an artificial lake in a public park in western Berlin.
Germany saw temperatures reach or exceed 40C, or 104F, in many places, according to the reports. The German weather service, DWD, said the temperature in Kubschuetz in eastern Germany did not fall below 29.4C on Saturday night, making it the warmest night there since records began nearly 150 years ago.
Records and storm risk
AFP, dpa and Reuters reported that preliminary all-time temperature records were set Saturday in Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic. The agencies said scientists linked the severity of the heatwave to human-driven climate change, saying such an event would have been virtually impossible without it.
The recent heat was also tied to an omega block, a weather pattern that holds a dome of hot air over an area for an extended period, according to the agencies. As much of the extreme heat was expected to ease over the weekend, forecasters warned that heavy thunderstorms could follow.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.