Key Points

• The second heat wave of the summer of 2022 began with the first orange heat wave alerts on July 12 and ended on July 25. This heat wave affected most of the country; 96% of the population experienced at least one day of orange alert and 16.5% experienced one day of red alert.

• This episode persisted for an extended period in several departments in the Southeast, with more than 7 days of alerts.

• Analysis of emergency care utilization indicates a decrease over the past few days in the composite health indicator tracked under the national heat wave management plan (heatstroke, dehydration, and hyponatremia), both nationally and in the regions affected by this prolonged episode, in line with the drop in temperatures.

• The health impacts observed here underscore once again that heat is a major health risk and highlight the need to implement the preventive measures recommended by the heat wave health management system.