France | 7,300 excess deaths and 52 days of heat waves: Longest summer on record
According to data from Météo-France analyzed by AFP, 2026 has surpassed the 33-day heat wave of 2022 and the 22 days of the deadly summer of 2003. Since the first heat wave began on June 17, there have been only two breaks, lasting three and eight days, respectively.
Heat Wave in Paris—File Photo
French health authorities estimate that there have been more than 7,300 excess deaths during this year's heat waves. An AFP analysis indicates that the country has now experienced a record 52 days of heat wave conditions since mid-June.
Three consecutive heat waves
France has experienced three consecutive episodes: 14 days in June, 16 in July and another 22-day period that began in late July and, as of Aug. 18, had not yet ended. Santé Publique France recorded 1,243 more deaths than usual between July 2 and 22, in addition to 5,764 between June 17 and 30 and 300 during a period of high temperatures in late May. In total, the figure of excess deaths stands at 7,307.
Nearly three-quarters of these excess deaths were among people aged 75 and older, although they affected all age groups 45 and older.
The agency notes that the deaths are from all causes and cannot yet be definitively attributed to the heat. Final figures are expected in the fall.
More hot days than in 2022 and 2003
According to data from Météo-France analyzed by AFP, 2026 has surpassed the 33 days of the 2022 heat wave and the 22 days of the deadly summer of 2003. Since the first heat wave began on June 17, there have been only two breaks, lasting three and eight days, respectively.
This is the highest number of heat wave days since records began in 1947. 2022 also had three heat waves, but they lasted nearly 20 days less in total. Extreme heat contributed to more than 15,000 deaths in 2003; the main episode was concentrated in about two weeks in August. That August 2003 heat wave remains the most severe in terms of combined duration and intensity.
Record temperatures and second-longest heat wave
June 24 and 25 were, on average, the hottest days ever recorded in metropolitan France, according to the national index that combines data from 30 reference stations. Temperatures reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit and broke the 2003 record.
The heat wave that began in late July is the second-longest in the country: 22 days and counting, just one day shy of the 23-day record set in July 1983. More than half of the 54 heat waves recorded since 1947 have occurred since 2010.
How heat waves are measured in France
This index is calculated based on average air temperatures (the average of the 24-hour minimum and maximum temperatures) recorded at 30 representative weather stations distributed throughout France. The heat wave is considered over when the indicator drops below 74.1 F for three consecutive days or when it falls, even if only briefly, below 72.32 F.
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