In brief
Santé Publique France reports a surge in daily deaths on the hottest days (23–25 June), with the true toll expected to rise when data from care homes arrives.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns that 150 million people are living under extreme heat, schools have closed and power grids are faltering.
Germany recorded a provisional 41.7 °C, the Czech Republic 41.1 °C, while Berlin, the UK, Denmark and Hungary all marked extreme highs.
French hospitals face a 40 percent increase in heat-related emergency calls, with deaths at home also up 40 percent. The head of Paris's Pompidou Hospital called the toll "very, very serious".
The mass of hot air is shifting eastward, yet forecasts from national weather agencies predict high temperatures will continue across much of the continent, including Portugal.
- 23 JunFrance sees its highest temperatures on record; daily deaths surge to 1,400 on 24–25 June.
- 24 JunSanté Publique France starts provisional mortality count.
- 28 JunWHO reports over 1,300 excess deaths; temperature records fall in Germany (41.7 °C) and Czech Republic (41.1 °C).
Death toll mounts
France has registered 1,000 more deaths than normal since June 24, Santé Publique France reported Sunday 28 June. The agency described the count as provisional and based only on electronic death certificates, warning the real toll will be higher once data from care homes and private residences is included. Across Europe, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 additional deaths had been recorded since 21 June.
“The episode is not finished.”
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist told BFM TV that the health impact could linger for 10 days after temperatures subside. Still, she said mortality would not reach the level of the August 2003 heatwave, when 15,000 people died, because 40 percent of healthcare facilities have been adapted since then.
“Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are closed and power grids are collapsing.”
Tedros called heat a “silent killer” in buildings not designed for such temperatures and noted Europe is the fastest-warming continent, at twice the global average.
Records broken from Berlin to Prague
Temperature records shattered for the second day in a row. Germany recorded a provisional high of 41.7 °C on Sunday, the DWD weather service said, after hitting 41.5 °C on Saturday. The Czech Republic reached 41.1 °C in Doksany, north of Prague, breaking the previous day’s 40.6 °C. The UK recorded 36 °C, Denmark 37 °C and Hungary nearly 40 °C. Berlin itself hit 41.5 °C earlier.
- Germany (provisional)
- 41.7 °C
- Czech Republic
- 41.1 °C
- Hungary
- 40 °C
- Denmark
- 37 °C
- United Kingdom
- 36 °C
Data from the article text
Météo France lifted most red alerts on Sunday, leaving only two departments in the northeast under maximum warning. But the mass of Saharan air that baked western Europe is now moving east, and meteorological agencies in multiple countries forecast unusually high temperatures will persist through next week, including in Portugal.
Hospitals under strain
In France, Interior Minister Laurent Núñez said heat-related emergency calls had jumped 40 percent over the previous four days. The head of Paris’s Pompidou Hospital emergency department, Philippe Juvin, told reporters the eventual toll would be “very, very serious.”
“The toll is likely to be very, very serious.”
Santé Publique France noted that 85 percent of the excess deaths involved people aged 65 and over, though all age groups were affected. Deaths at home rose by 40 percent, with the increase most pronounced in regions that had been under red alert: Île-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, Normandie and Pays de la Loire.
A long summer ahead
Europe’s death figures remain incomplete. Santé Publique France said mortality data from last Friday, when half the country was still on maximum alert, has not yet been compiled. Patrice Belloux, president of France’s association of emergency doctors, cautioned that summer has barely begun and mortality could worsen.
“The summer has only just started and the mortality figures could worsen in the coming weeks.”
The WHO urged European countries to implement heat action plans within broader climate-health programmes. The organisation highlighted that heatwaves once considered once-per-generation events are now occurring almost annually.