France Records 300 Excess Deaths During Five-Day May Heatwave, Public Health France Says

France recorded 300 excess deaths during a five-day May heatwave, with Public Health France director general Caroline Semaille saying, "We recorded 300 excess deaths, corresponding to an increase of nearly 14 percent," while adding the deaths were due to all causes combined.

“Temperatures in Europe have hit a new high this summer, with hotter early-summer heatwaves resulting in illness, excessive deaths and the collapse of infrastructure”

Al Jazeera

France’s May heat episode was followed in June by 11 days of the hottest temperatures the country has experienced since records began, and the public health agency said the May episode was "characterised by its early timing and intensity compared with seasonal norms."

Al Jazeera

In Paris, mortuary owner Zouhaeir Hertelli said, "We're facing a really catastrophic situation," as he reported that with all 32 places in his cold room taken, he was getting hundreds of calls during the heatwave.

Public Health France said there were more than 1,200 deaths last Wednesday when France registered its hottest-ever day, and it reported more than 1,400 deaths on Thursday and another 1,400 on Friday during the three days it studied.

The agency cautioned that its estimate of at least 1,000 additional deaths during those three sizzling days is expected to increase as more death certificates come in, and it said 85% of the deaths registered so far involved people aged 65 and above.

The World Meteorological Organization said record-breaking heat spread through Europe with major impacts on human health, ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure and labour productivity, and it said WMO and partners were mobilizing with early warnings and coordinated heat-health action plans.

WMO head of climate information John Kennedy said, "Heatwaves like this are what we expect to see in a changing climate," and World Health Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to the extreme heat in Europe.

Anadolu Ajansı

In France, opposition parties criticized the government’s handling of the heat wave response, with Le Monde reported that Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was due to chair a fourth interministerial crisis meeting Monday to review the response.

Marine Tondelier of the Greens called for political accountability, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez defended the government’s handling of the heat wave, and President Emmanuel Macron said France had undertaken "a great deal of work" to reduce carbon emissions and adapt public infrastructure to climate change.

The government approved the procurement of 30,000 air-conditioning units for hospitals on Saturday after the heat wave intensified, and it activated national emergency response plans and delegated operational management to regional authorities through prefects.

The WMO said the heatwave is expected to spread over large parts of Western, Central, and Southern Europe and the Balkans by 30 June, and it said Climate Watch guidance issued by a European climate monitoring centre led by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) is intended as guidance for National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.

“Eric Mackres is senior manager of urban analytics for the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and attended London Climate Action Week during the June 2026 heatwave”

Climate Home News

In Germany, the WMO said Coschen in eastern Germany near the border with Poland reported 41.7°C on 28 June, and it said a total 252 weather stations recorded all time temperature records, with DWD reporting 46 stations throughout Germany recorded temperatures of above 40°C until 27 June.

In France, Public Health France said mortality would be higher than first figures and that deaths at home rose by about 40% in the Paris region, while it reported that the estimate of at least 1,000 additional deaths during the three days studied is expected to increase as more death certificates come in.

In London, Climate Home News said temperatures soared past 36 degrees Celsius (97F) and schools closed early, and it said the mayor announced the city’s first heat action plan.

The article also quoted WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities senior manager Eric Mackres and Drexel University epidemiology associate professor Usama Bilal, arguing that cities should measure heat’s risks to people’s health locally and use early warning systems and outreach campaigns to give people more targeted heat alerts.