France records 1,000 additional deaths as extreme heat sets European records

France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heatwave, the country’s public health agency said.

The figures were released as the head of the World Health Organisation warned that Europe is the fastest-warming continent on earth and that countries there need to do better to protect their citizens.

Temperature records were toppled in several countries over the weekend as wildfires were sparked in Germany and Berlin police used water cannons to cool down the crowds.

Meanwhile, the heatwave moved slowly towards eastern parts of the continent.

Germany marked a new record for the third day in a row with 41.7C in Neisemunde, near the border with Poland, which baked under its new all-time high of 40.5C. The Czech Republic also experienced its hottest day ever with 41.1C.

A new study from the World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaboration of scientists, reported on Friday that the record-breaking heat and humidity in Europe this past week would not have been possible without climate change.

The rapid study found that the heat would have been virtually impossible five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.

France reported a surge in deaths last week at the height of a record-smashing heatwave, including a sharp increase at private homes, especially in the Paris region, the national public health agency said on Sunday.

There were more than 1,200 deaths on Wednesday, when France was sweltering under its hottest temperatures, increasing to more than 1,400 deaths on each of the two following days, Public Health France said. In April and May, before the heatwave, France’s rate of deaths was about 900 to 1,000 per day.

The agency concluded that France experienced a total of at least 1,000 additional deaths during those three days alone, an estimate it cautioned is likely to increase as more data is collected, including for deaths at home.

The increase was sharpest in areas under red warnings of extreme heat, it said. Those warnings blanketed about three-quarters of the country at the peak of the heatwave. The agency said that 85% of the deaths involved people aged 65 and above.

“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday on X.

“Right now, 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling,” he said.

“Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annually,” Dr Tedros said, adding that “more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since June 21 linked to high temperatures in Europe”.

“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ — and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” Dr Tedros warned, as he called on European countries to implement heat health action plans.

He said they should address the health threats posed by extreme heat through focusing on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses.

In Sweden, several people were injured when they were hit by lightning at an amusement park, the country’s TT news agency reported.

Three adults were taken to hospital, among them a woman with serious injuries, after lightning struck the Tosselilla Sommarland park in Tomelilla in the south of the country.

Across Europe, the extreme heat has been followed by severe thunderstorms.

Denmark, which marked new temperature records on Saturday, had recorded 1,156 lighting strikes by Sunday morning, according to public broadcaster DR.

In Gohrischheide, in eastern Germany, a fire broke out in a large forest that is still contaminated with ammunition from the Second World War, which made the firefighters’ efforts even more complicated.

Similarly, a major firefighting operation was under way in south-west Germany near the village of Traisen, where the heat sparked a forest fire in an area that also contained unexploded ordnance.

Firefighters had to stop temporarily after explosions took place and an ordnance disposal unit was brought in to continuously assess the situation, German news agency dpa reported.

https://x.com/WHO/status/2071111400022270345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Meanwhile, the German capital’s police found a unique way to help suffering Berliners and tourists alike. They put up two huge water cannons — usually used to disperse unruly protesters — in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate and sprayed the cool water across the cheering crowd.

The heat also continued to damage the country’s infrastructure, with the concrete surface on countless highways breaking up, and a weekend warning by national rail operator Deutsche Bahn to avoid all unnecessary train travel.

And in the eastern city of Leipzig, no trams will be running until early Monday morning due to heat damage to tracks and switches.

The Leipzig Public Transportation Authority said that the high temperatures had caused the joint sealant for asphalt and concrete in switches and tracks to run and clump together in many places throughout the city’s network.