Heat Wave in France Claims Hundreds of Lives – Elderly and Swimmers Especially Affected

Young People Also Dying – Through Drowning

In addition to the elderly, an increasing number of young people are dying – from drowning accidents. Since the start of the heat wave, the number of those who drowned has risen to 90, including, according to Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari, small children and young people who took risks – such as jumping from bridges or swimming in unguarded waters. "It shows that it has to do with the heat, people are looking to cool down," Ferrari said. In recent days, there have been fewer drowning deaths.

First Political Reactions

The French government is drawing initial consequences. Ferrari announced new rules for sporting events during heat waves. "We will have to adjust our schedules," she said. In addition, there should be official cooling breaks in the future, similar to those at the football World Cup. She also called for more people to be trained in swimming in open waters. Furthermore, the training of lifeguards should be improved. She acknowledged that there are too few swimming pools in rural areas.

How devastating insufficient safety measures can be was demonstrated by an incident last Sunday in Nice: an athlete died there after participating in an improvised Ironman competition, after the official event had been canceled due to the heat. The athlete had apparently taken part despite the ban and collapsed.

Germany Also Affected

Germany also experienced extreme heat. By the end of the month, there had been an exceptionally intense and prolonged heat wave with regional temperatures above 40 degrees. Temperature records were broken multiple times. In the week of June 15 to 21, the average of daytime and nighttime temperatures was 21.1 degrees, according to the RKI, and thus above the threshold above which a noticeable heat-related increase in mortality is to be expected.

Even before the worst heat days, Germany had seen more than 800 heat-related deaths this year, according to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The current RKI estimate covers the period from April 6 to June 21. About 40 of those were under 65. The RKI data also show that more women than men die – which can be attributed to the high proportion of women in the older age groups.

The analysis is based on data from the Federal Statistical Office on deaths and air temperature data from 52 weather stations of the German Weather Service (DWD), averaged at the federal state level. In some cases, such as heatstroke, the heat exposure leads directly to death, while in most cases it is the combination of heat exposure and pre-existing conditions that leads to death. For this reason, heat is normally not listed as the underlying cause of death on death certificates. Instead, the extent of heat-related deaths is estimated using statistical methods.

These differences can be attributed to the differing intensity of heat periods. In the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, there were around 3,000 cases each. In the following year, approximately 7,000 heat-related deaths were recorded. The figures for the last nine weeks included so far may still be affected by late notifications, according to the RKI. The extreme heat phase in Germany only began widespread in the days that followed; initial data on heat-related deaths during this period will be presented next week.

The heat has also strained infrastructure. In Leipzig, the joint filler of the tram rails melted due to the extreme heat. Citizens of Leipzig helped with the repairs, scraping the filler out of the tracks. Only around one in 20 new residential buildings in Germany is equipped with air conditioning – a figure experts consider insufficient in view of rising temperatures.

Wildfires and Infrastructure Under Pressure

In southern France, hundreds of firefighters battled several forest fires on Thursday. Two further fires broke out north of Marseille: near Rognac, 50 hectares burned; the fire is now under control. Near Lançon-Provence, a fire destroyed 260 hectares; two firefighting aircraft were still in operation. North of Narbonne, 900 hectares of vegetation burned; the fire had not yet been contained in the morning. No one was injured in the fires; 600 people had to leave their homes. Béatrice Bourrel from Pouzols-Minervois reported: "We were evacuated yesterday afternoon and could see the flames from the road. The village was black with smoke."

Several roads were closed, and emergency shelters were set up. Trains between Marseille, Bordeaux, and Avignon were canceled. Strong winds of up to 60 km/h and the parched vegetation made firefighting difficult.

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the current heat wave as a dress rehearsal for future summers. Scientists assume that heat waves will increase in intensity and frequency as a result of human-made climate change.