Key Points

• In mainland France, according to Météo-France, the summer of 2022 ranks as the second-hottest summer recorded since the beginning of the 20th century. The 2022 summer monitoring period was marked by three heatwave episodes, two of which placed departments along the Atlantic coast under a red alert, and two successive episodes lasting about a dozen days in the Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions. Furthermore, this summer was also marked by other extreme weather phenomena such as drought, wildfires, thunderstorms, and a heatwave in the Mediterranean Sea. Regarding health monitoring, key figures include:

  • 2,816 excess deaths (+17%), all causes combined, were estimated during heatwave periods in the departments where biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded (the relative excess mortality observed in departments under red alert was higher than in other departments). The summer monitoring period shows the highest excess mortality since the implementation of the National Heat Wave Plan in 2004. People aged 75 and older account for the vast majority of these excess deaths, associated with a high relative excess mortality of +20%.

  • 2,060 emergency room visits and 680 SOS Médecins consultations for hyperthermia, dehydration, and hyponatremia (iCanicule indicator) were observed in regions where biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded this summer.

• The Grand Est region was also affected by three successive heat waves, the first observed in June, the second in July, and the third in August 2022. During these heatwave episodes, exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds were observed in 2 departments during the first episode (52 and 88), 1 department during the second episode (52), and 1 department during the third episode (67). A health impact was noted during these periods:

  • 61 excess deaths, all causes combined, were estimated during the heatwave periods in the departments affected by exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds, representing a relative excess mortality of +26% (primarily during the third episode, with the majority of those affected being aged 75 and older).

  • During the heatwave episodes, 4 SOS Médecins calls were recorded regionally for the iCanicule indicator, as well as 424 emergency room visits for the iCanicule indicator, 232 of which were followed by hospitalization. Emergency care visits accounted for up to 1.6% of daily emergency room visits and 0.2% of daily SOS Médecins calls during the first heatwave episode. Although all age groups were affected, emergency room visits and SOS Médecins calls primarily involved people aged 75 and older.