At least 3,700 excess deaths have been recorded in France, Belgium and the Netherlands alone as a result of the June heat wave that sent temperatures soaring above 40°C (104°F).
Experts have said the heat wave, which lasted from about June 20-28, was the worst on record in Europe, and authorities have warned that the fatality figures are preliminary and could rise.
France recorded 2,025 excess deaths, according to Health Minister Stephanie Rist, an increase of 29.1% on usual figures. While people over the age of 65 accounted for the largest percentage of deaths, there was also a spike in deaths among 45-64-year-olds, Public Health France said.
Deaths at home rose by over 90% between June 22-28 compared to the previous week, the country’s public health authority said in a statement, while deaths in nursing homes and healthcare facilities also increased.
“Mortality will … be higher than these initial figures suggest,” the authority warned.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces a no-confidence vote in parliament, possibly on Monday, over his government’s handling of the extreme heat, which disrupted daily life, forcing schools to close and trains to be canceled.
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Belgium reports ‘unprecedented’ heat
In neighboring Belgium, the Health Ministry said it registered 1,222 additional deaths between June 18 and June 29, an increase in excess mortality of about 39% above normal.
“Such a level of excess mortality during a heat wave is unprecedented in our country,” the ministry said in a statement, noting that Belgium had recorded “seven tropical days of temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F)” as well as “abnormally” warm nights.
The peak in Belgium was reached on Friday, June 26, when most of the country was placed under orange or red heat alerts, prompting authorities to cancel a slew of events including a reenactment of the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.
Further north in the Netherlands, Dutch authorities said the heat wave led to around 480 excess deaths, mainly in the south and east of the country where temperatures were highest.
Like in Belgium and France, most of the excess fatalities were recorded among older people.
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Heat wave: temperature records broken across Europe
More than two-thirds of Europe’s 410-million population experienced temperatures over 35°C during the heat wave, according to an analysis by the AFP news agency.
All-time temperature records were broken in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, as well as June records in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Average temperatures in France hit record highs, notably including the hottest nights ever recorded in the country.
France also experienced an unusually early heat wave in May, with health officials saying there were at least 300 more deaths than expected during that period.
Around 15,000 people died in France during a severe heat wave in 2003, with many elderly people dying in nursing homes.
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France: How many households use air conditioning?
As a result, politicians have faced criticism for failing to put in place measures to address rising temperatures.
The share of French households equipped with air conditioning rose from 18% in 2023 to 24% in 2025, according to the state environment agency Ademe.
By way of comparison, nearly 90% of households in the United States had air conditioning in 2020, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In the absence of infrastructural and building measures, many people in France have been abandoning a longstanding aversion to air conditioning on environmental grounds and rushing to purchase cooling units.
One recent survey cited by AFP suggested that up to eight in 10 French people once considered air-con environmentally unfriendly but, in the midst of the heat wave on June 22, supermarket giant Carrefour said it had sold 30,000 units by 6:30 p.m.
“A thousand times more than on a normal day,” according to CEO Alexandre Bompard.
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Edited by: Sean Sinico
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