2023-06-23 14:46:23
June 23, 2023
In 2022 alone, nearly 7,000 deaths are heat-related, according to a report from Public Health France published this Friday.
The heat killed nearly 33,000 people in France between 2014 and 2022. In a report published this Friday, June 23, Public Health France studied the impact of high temperatures on mortality. In total, over the period studied, 32,658 deaths are attributable to heat, between June 1 and September 15 each year, of which 23,080 concern people aged 75 and over. If this category of the population pays a heavy price, Public Health France emphasizes however that a significant part of the deaths, a third, do not concern people under the age of 75. In other words, it is indeed the entire population that is threatened by rising temperatures.
The greatest impact of heat on mortality was in 2022, with 6,969 deaths that year. According to Météo France, the heat waves of summer 2022 would have been “highly unlikely and significantly less intense without the effect of climate change”. The year 2019 comes in second place with its approximately 4,500 deaths between June 1 and September 15.
72% of heat-related events, excluding heat waves
Other information, 28% of these deaths occur during a heat wave episode. As a reminder, “Heat waves are defined on a departmental scale, and correspond to periods of at least 3 days of intense heat. When the average maximum and minimum temperatures over 3 days exceed the alert thresholds, the department is considered to be in a heat wave over the entire period of the overrun”. These days of heat waves represent on average 6% of the period studied each year.
Thus, 72% of heat-related deaths do not occur during extreme climatic episodes such as heat waves. “Population exposure to heat outside of heat waves, associated with a lower but more frequent risk, contributes more to the total impact than extreme heat associated with a higher but rarer risk”, note the experts from Public Health France.
What are the heat-related risks?
The most serious damage occurs in the hours following exposure to heat. “Maintaining the internal temperature of the body at 37°C constitutes an effort which mobilizes the cardiovascular, respiratory and renal systems, and which can aggravate pre-existing pathologies”, explains Public Health France.
The health authority has identified three main pathologies:
Hyperthermia or heat stroke : a person who does not sweat enough, has a body temperature that increases and cannot maintain itself at 37°C. This risk mainly concerns newborns, young children and adults who are particularly exposed to heat.
The dehydration : a person who sweats and does not drink enough, becomes dehydrated (the body lacks water). Older people are most at risk.
hyponatremia : it is a lack of sodium in the blood which can be due to insufficient intake, certain medications, kidney dysfunction or excessive water ingestion. It can cause neurological disorders.
While only 12% of the population consider themselves fragile in the face of heat, Public Health France pleads, in addition to prevention messages, for the development of a strategy for adaptation to climate change, at national but also local level. “The very significant impact observed in 2022 compared to other years foreshadows the challenges to come: very high temperatures all summer long, with extreme peaks, and a risk aggravated by a pandemic and probably by air pollution. generated by the fires locally”, conclude the authors.
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