Almost 8,000 excess deaths in the hottest summer ever in France

Din the longest heat episode ever recorded in the territory, from July 27th to August 20th, at least 817 excess deaths were recorded – which cannot yet be attributed with certainty to heat – by Santé publique France (SpF), which today released a new balance sheet.

This third heat wave of summer, which reached almost 90% of the population of mainland France, was less deadly than the previous two.

The 817 deaths above expected are added to the 5,764 deaths estimated between June 17 and July 2, at 1,243 between July 3 and 20 and 95 during a brief heat peak before summer, from May 24 to 28. In total, 7,919 deaths were confirmed.

This balance sheet should, however, increase: numbers have yet to be consolidated – the collection has not ended – and do not cover the whole summer, whose surveillance period runs from 1 June to 15 September.

“ This summer of 2026 was completely unheard of, with episodes of almost continuous heat waves”, he stressed to the news agency France-Presse (AFP) Guillaume Boulanger, responsible for the unit of quality of life, work and health of SpF populations.

According to Boulanger, the days of heat wave usually represent “about 5% of summer”, but this year France will be “clearly above”.

The summer of 2026 was, according to Météo-France, the hottest since 1900, ahead of the summers of 2003, whose strong impact on health, with its 15,000 deaths, had a shock effect, but also of 2022.

Climate change, caused mainly by the burning of coal, oil and gas associated with human activities, increases the likelihood of episodes of heat waves that are so intense, long and geographically extensive.

This summer, these heat waves reached, in addition to France, “mainly Western Europe: Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy,” noted Boulanger, recalling that counting methods differ from country to country and make comparisons difficult.

While previous episodes had also affected younger populations, this time they were “almost exclusively people aged 75 years or older”: 751 deaths were recorded above expected in this age group, the health agency indicated.

Almost half of these excess deaths recorded during 25 days of heat wave occurred in three days, from August 14-16, soon after the two “most intense” days due to their temperatures and occurred in the “largest extent of the territory”, Robin Lagarrigue, responsible for scientific studies in the SpF, needed.

With the exception of Normandy and Occitania, all regions suffered an excess of all-cause mortality. Burgundy-Franco-Condido, with 140 deaths in excess, was the most affected, affected by one of the longest exposure durations of this episode.

Unlike previous episodes of summer heat waves, excess mortality does not seem to have been more pronounced at home: about half of the deaths were recorded in the hospital, compared to 25% at home and just over 20% in elderly homes (Ehpad).

But the homes of the elderly are sometimes considered the homes of the deceased, and some deaths may occur in the hospital after exposure at home or in an Ehpad. Therefore, caution is necessary at this stage in interpretation.

According to the two institutions, in the three heat waves of summer, the first (17 June to 2 July) was marked by about 4.5 times more excess deaths than the second and seven times more than the third.

SpF and Météo-France advance with hypotheses to explain this difference: the very intense character, but also the earlyness. In June, the organisms were not acclimated to heat, and the activity (work, school, etc.) was still intense.

In addition, the most fragile people (old, with chronic pathologies, poor housing conditions, among others) may have died early in the summer.

After the publication of the first figures, which are being progressively cleared, the death balances of the intense heat periods of 2026 fueled a fierce political battle with the approaching presidential elections, with the government being accused of lack of preparation by the opposition.

A definitive balance sheet is expected at the beginning of 2027. The effects on health are not limited to heat waves, and a supermortality is generally observed once the average daily temperature exceeds 25°C.