Key Points

• In mainland France, according to Météo-France, the summer of 2022 ranks as the second-hottest summer recorded in France 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:

  • An estimated 2,816 excess deaths (+17%) occurred during heatwave periods in the departments where biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded. People aged 75 and older accounted for the vast majority of these excess deaths, associated with a high relative excess mortality rate of +20.2% (1 in 6 deaths was excess).

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

• The Centre-Val de Loire region was affected by three successive heat waves, the first observed in June, the second in July, and the third in August 2022. During these heat waves, exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds were observed in 1 department during the first episode (Cher - 18), one department during the second episode (Indre-et-Loire - 37), and two departments during the third episode (Indre-et-Loire - 37 and Loir-et-Cher - 41). A health impact was observed during these periods:

  • During the heatwave episodes, 13 SOS Médecins calls were recorded regionally for the iCanicule indicator, as well as 187 emergency room visits for the iCanicule indicator, 106 of which resulted in hospitalization. Emergency care visits accounted for up to 0.7% of daily emergency room visits and 0.5% of daily SOS Médecins calls during the second episode. Although all age groups were affected, emergency room visits primarily involved those aged 75 and older, while SOS Médecins calls primarily involved those aged 15–74.

  • Across all periods during which thresholds were exceeded, relative mortality across all age groups was at expected levels (-1%), though there was excess mortality among those aged 15–74 (+19 deaths, or +20%), offset by lower-than-expected mortality among those under 15 (-2 deaths, or -34%) and among those aged 75 and older (-20 deaths, or -9%). During the first episode, 9 excess deaths were estimated during periods when biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded in the region, representing a relative excess mortality of +9%. During the second period, deaths were below expected levels (-14%) in Indre-et-Loire, a phenomenon that also occurred in this department during the third episode (-6%). During the third episode, Loir-et-Cher recorded a relative excess mortality of +9%.