Key Points

• In mainland France: the 2022 summer monitoring period was marked by three heatwave episodes, two of which placed departments along the Atlantic coast on red alert, and two successive episodes lasting about a dozen days in the Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions. Key figures include:

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

  • An estimated 2,816 excess deaths (+17%) occurred during these episodes in the departments where biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded. 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 rate of +20%.

• In Hauts-de-France: the region was affected by two successive heat waves, recorded in mid-July and mid-August 2022. During the first episode, an orange alert was issued by Météo-France for the region’s five departments. Exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds were recorded only in the Nord department, for a total of seven days during the two episodes. A significant health impact on the population was recorded during the two periods when departmental alert thresholds were exceeded, with:

  • 161 calls to SOS Médecins and 334 emergency room visits, 146 of which resulted in hospitalization, for heat-related conditions (iCanicule indicator). Although all age groups were affected, emergency room visits primarily involved older adults, while SOS Médecins calls mainly involved those aged 15–74.

  • A relative excess mortality of 16%, all causes combined, was estimated during the two heat waves in the Nord department, the only department where biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded. Relative excess mortality was highest during the August heat wave, particularly among people aged 75 and older.