As parts of Europe continue to experience an unprecedented heat wave, French health officials said Sunday there had been around 1,000 more deaths in the country than expected. “Since June 24, approximately 1,000 additional deaths (unconsolidated figures) have been observed compared to the deaths recorded in previous months,” Public Health France said in a statement.
The agency said areas under red alert for heat had been particularly badly affected, and 85 percent of the deaths had been those aged 65 and over.
The sharpest increases, the agency said, involved people dying at home, especially in the Ile-de-France region that includes Paris and its suburbs.
“This observation serves as a reminder of the need for measures of solidarity toward people who are isolated or experiencing profound loneliness, including in highly urbanised areas,” the statement said.
The agency stressed that the figures were preliminary and were likely to be an underestimate.
Record heat in France
According to the authorities, the capital Paris and 36 other regions, stretching from the centre to the east and northeast, remained in the extreme-heat red zone on Saturday, down from a peak on Thursday of 72 regions that were under such warnings.
The capital continued to see unrelenting pressure on its hospitals, with a second consecutive day of nearly 3,000 people seeking care in public hospital emergency rooms, about a third more than normal.
The Paris public hospital authority, AP-HP, said it activated its emergency response plan across all 38 hospitals to cope. Phone calls to its medical dispatch centres were up nearly 80 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, it said.
Western, Central Europe under heat wave
According to The Associated Press, several countries in Western and Central Europe have seen record-high temperatures in the past few days due to the heat wave.
Unusually high temperatures were recorded even in the Nordic countries not known for sweltering summers. Denmark’s Meteorological Institute reported a record 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Odum north of Aarhus – the warmest day since records there began in 1874.
In , a record 38.8 C was set in the city of Basel.
Germany’s famous Autobahn was overwhelmed, too, as temperatures were expected to hit 40 C. In two places outside Berlin, the concrete of the A2 burst due to the high temperatures and the highway had to be closed. Other highway damage was reported across the country, according to the German daily Bild.
The Czech Republic also saw its hottest day on record, with 40.8 C in the northern town of Doksany. Forecasters said it may still rise.
In France, multiple towns in the east of the country saw their highest-ever temperatures Saturday, with some above 40 C even though the worst of the heat wave was starting to pass in some regions.
Meanwhile, in the UK, there was some relief as the temperatures started easing after three record heat days
Authorities in the UK have warned people to take extra care when swimming in unsupervised areas following the deaths of around 40 people in France over the past week.
European heat wave put focus on climate change
A new study from the World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaboration of scientists, reported Friday that the and humidity in Europe this week would not have been possible without climate change.
The rapid study found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.
Andre Correa do Lago, the president of the known as COP30, said the heat wave has “helped strengthen the perception of urgency of fighting climate change.”
“The fact that we are living with this amazing heat in London is a strong argument, we need to agree, that we have to take action as soon as possible,” do Lago told The Associated Press.
