Health impacts of heat waves and consequences for the exposed population

Santé publique France has published a public health bulletin on heat waves that provides a national overview of the meteorological and health impacts of heat waves during the 2020 summer monitoring period, as well as the prevention and communication measures that were implemented.

Fortes chaleurs, canicule

Extreme heat, heat wave

thematic dossier

Heat waves can have a significant impact on health. It is therefore essential to take proper precautions. Certain measures must be put in place, especially for those most at risk.

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Climate change is leading to increasingly frequent and widespread heat waves, with greater consequences for the size of the population exposed to them. The health impact of these episodes requires combining rapid preventive measures during alerts with long-term interventions to make cities more resilient to heat.

Increased exposure to heat waves observed over the past 6 years

The heatwave assessment shows that the summer of 2020 stands out both in terms of public health—due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and in terms of climate, with an intensification of heatwave exposure observed over the past six years (three heatwaves, including one particularly severe in northern France), resulting in an increase in associated health impacts. The summer of 2020 thus had the greatest health impact since the implementation of the national heatwave plan in 2004, just ahead of the summers of 2015, 2018, and 2019.

Preventing health risks from heat waves requires not only adopting appropriate individual behaviors but also taking environmental actions to reduce urban heat.

Adapting cities to heat

Santé publique France and the Institut Paris Région (formerly the Institut d'aménagement et d'urbanisme de la région d'Île-de-France) studied the influence of certain urban characteristics on the relationship between temperature and mortality between 1990 and 2015.
The results show that the risk of heat-related mortality is lower in municipalities with more vegetation, more trees, and less paved surfaces. In Paris and the inner suburbs, the risk of dying from extreme heat is 18% higher in municipalities with fewer trees than in those with more trees.

Taking action on the urban environment therefore helps protect residents’ health and adapt to climate change.