In France, the summer of 2022 was marked by an excess mortality of 10,420 deaths, partly linked to high temperatures and Covid-19, according to an estimate published on November 21 by the health authorities.
The calculation of Public Health France (SPF) is based on the number of deaths observed in 2022 compared to the previous five summers. Over the entire summer surveillance period, from June 1 to September 15, the health agency estimated 10,420 additional deaths.
Of the only three heat wave episodes in the summer of 2022 (at least three days each), 2,816 additional deaths were recorded, all causes combined. This is the balance sheet “the most important since 2003”, the year of the deadliest heat wave (15,000 dead), reports Public Health France.
Part of the excess mortality is “probably due to exposure to high heat”, below “heat wave alert thresholds”, according to this report. We will have to wait until early 2023 to have an estimate of its magnitude.
Covid-19, another mortality factor
As a rebound this summer, the coronavirus epidemic also comes into play. But ” there is an interaction between these two phenomena, inseparable summed up Guillaume Boulanger, head of the “Quality of living and working environments and population health” unit at SPF during a press briefing.
People aged 75 and over were the most affected during the three heat wave episodes: one additional death out of six concerned them (2,272 excess deaths, +20.2%). During these periods, 894 deaths linked to Covid-19 were also recorded, mainly for French people aged 70 and over.
(with AFP)