Key Points

• The orange heat wave alert period began on June 20 and ended on July 7. During this period, 87 departments across all regions of mainland France were placed under an orange heat wave alert, covering 90% of the French population. On July 1 and 2, 16 departments (24% of the population) were also placed under a red heat wave alert.

• Analysis of emergency care visits shows a peak in the iCanicule composite health indicator (heatstroke/hyperthermia, dehydration, hyponatremia) on July 1, followed by a decline in such visits since then.

• The number of emergency care visits for iCanicule primarily involved people aged 75 and older (51% of emergency room visits for iCanicule).

• However, impacts were also observed among younger populations: the number of emergency care visits for iCanicule among those under 15 and those aged 15–44 actually increased through July 1 before subsequently decreasing. Emergency care visits primarily involved hyperthermia and heatstroke.

• The number of SOS Médecins consultations for iCanicule on July 1, 2025, approached the maximum number of daily SOS consultations observed during the June 2019 heatwave, during which 80 departments were under an orange heatwave alert, including 4 under a red heatwave alert.

• The initial health impacts observed underscore that heat poses a health risk to all age groups, especially since health effects may be delayed by a few days and increase with continuous exposure over several days. It is important to implement preventive measures to protect the population, particularly given the early onset, intensity, and geographic extent of the heatwave.