France has recorded around 1,000 excess deaths linked to the intense heatwave that has gripped much of Europe, according to the country’s public health agency.
The agency, Santé Publique France, released the figure on Sunday, cautioning that the death toll may increase as additional reports from hospitals, nursing homes and residential care facilities are reviewed.
Health officials said older adults accounted for the majority of the fatalities, although the extreme temperatures have affected people across all age groups.
Large parts of Europe have experienced exceptionally high temperatures over the past several days, leading to dozens of deaths, widespread disruption and damage to infrastructure. The prolonged heat has also affected electricity production and strained public services in several countries.
Several nations recorded historic temperatures over the weekend. Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic all registered preliminary all-time heat records on Saturday, while Switzerland experienced its hottest June day ever. The United Kingdom had already broken several temperature records earlier in the week.
Climate scientists say the heatwave, which began on June 20, is one of the most severe ever documented across Europe. They argue that such extreme conditions would have been highly unlikely without human-driven climate change. Researchers also noted that unusually hot nights have become about 100 times more likely than they were just two decades ago.
Describing the situation as a public health emergency, German lawmaker and former Green Party parliamentary leader Katrin Goering-Eckardt said on X that the soaring temperatures should not be viewed as ordinary summer weather.
Berlin reached 39 degrees Celsius on Saturday, prompting local police to deploy water cannons to spray residents seeking relief from the heat.
In France, authorities recently opened an involuntary manslaughter investigation after two children, aged two and four, died after being found unconscious inside their family’s parked car in Carpentras, southeastern France. Prosecutors said the children were discovered by their mother on Monday but could not be saved.
French officials also reported a sharp increase in drowning incidents during the heatwave.
Although the hottest conditions have gradually shifted eastward, parts of northeastern France remain under heatwave alerts. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist warned that the health consequences of the extreme temperatures could continue for up to 10 days after the weather improves.
“The episode is not over,” she told French broadcaster BFM.
Beyond France, the heat has continued to create challenges across Europe. Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant was expected to cut electricity generation by an additional 320 megawatts on Sunday because the Danube River, which cools the facility, had become unusually warm.
Germany’s Meteorological Service reported a preliminary national record of 41.5 degrees Celsius in Moeckern-Drewitz, Saxony-Anhalt, surpassing the previous day’s 41.3-degree reading near Saarbruecken.
Denmark also experienced unprecedented temperatures, with the Danish Meteorological Institute recording 37 degrees Celsius north of Aarhus on Saturday, the highest temperature measured in the country since records began in 1874.
The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said temperatures climbed to 40.9 degrees Celsius north of Prague, setting a new national record.
Meanwhile, Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, recorded its warmest night on record on Friday, highlighting the widespread impact of the exceptional heat across the region.
