Record heat leaves 1K excess deaths in France

Shafaq News- Paris

France recorded around 1,000 excess deaths during the peak of last week's record-breaking heatwave, while extreme temperatures fueled wildfires, disrupted transport, and strained emergency services across Europe.

According to France's national public health agency, daily fatalities rose from the usual 900–1,000 to more than 1,200 on June 24 and exceeded 1,400 on both June 25 and 26. The highest increase was recorded in areas under the country's highest heatwave alert, with people aged 65 and older accounting for 85% of the deaths.

A rapid study published on Friday by the World Weather Attribution research group concluded that last week's unprecedented heat and humidity in Europe would not have been possible without climate change. It found the event would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago and is now 200 times more likely than it was two decades ago, media outlets reported.

The heatwave gave way to severe thunderstorms across Europe, triggering lightning strikes, wildfires, transport disruptions. Several people were injured in Sweden after lightning struck an amusement park, while Germany battled forest fires, heat-related illnesses, and major disruptions to rail and public transport. Greece warned of a "very high" wildfire risk in five regions, and Denmark recorded more than 1,100 lightning strikes after setting new temperature records.