France Faces Deadliest Heatwave with Nearly 1,000 Deaths and Severe Impact

French authorities estimate that nearly 1,000 people have died within days due to an unprecedented heatwave sweeping the country. Most victims are elderly, but the heat has also claimed younger lives, including a 34-year-old woman who died after her body temperature reached 41 degrees Celsius despite emergency medical efforts. The French public health agency warns that the death toll is expected to rise as more detailed data from nursing homes and private residences become available.

Unlike Israel, air conditioning is rare in France and much of Europe, exacerbating the crisis. Residents are resorting to emergency blankets, aluminum foil, and thin limestone coatings on windows to insulate their homes. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist emphasized in an interview that the crisis is ongoing and warned that the heatwave's effects could last up to ten days after temperatures drop.

In addition to the heat, severe storms have caused energy infrastructure failures, leaving 36,000 households in northern and central France without electricity. Although the storms brought cooler air that eased some pressure, heat warnings remain in effect in parts of northeastern France.

Scientists confirm this heatwave, which began on June 20, is the most severe ever recorded in Europe, with climate change making extreme nighttime temperatures 100 times more common. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the global scale of the crisis, noting 150 million people are currently exposed to extreme heat, with widespread deaths, school closures, and power outages. He warned that due to global warming, once-in-a-generation heatwaves are now occurring almost annually.