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Closure of the 2013 Heat Wave and Health Alert System August 31 of each year marks the closure of the Heat Wave and Health Alert System (SACS). Initiated and coordinated since 2004 by the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS) in close collaboration with Météo-France, SACS is part of the National Heat Wave Plan (PNC) and is activated on June 1 of each year. It is based on the monitoring of two biometeorological indicators: three-day averages of nighttime temperatures (IBMn) and three-day averages of daytime temperatures (IBMx). Departmental alert thresholds, which vary depending on local climatic conditions, have been established for these indicators and correspond to a major risk of excess mortality. An alert is issued when these two indicators have a high probability of simultaneously exceeding the alert thresholds. At the same time, in the event of a heat wave, monitoring of health indicators allows for the assessment of potential impacts so that management measures can be adjusted if necessary. This summer, France experienced a mild heat wave from July 24 to 27, 2013, which led Météo-France to place 33 departments—primarily in the southwest, southeast, and northeast—under a yellow heat warning and two departments (Rhône and Isère) under an orange heat wave alert.In Poitou-Charentes, no department was affected by a heat warning or heatwave alert this summer. Except during week 30 of 2013, when there was a mild heat wave, the number of emergency room visits for heat-related conditions (hyperthermia, heatstroke, dehydration, and hyponatremia) remained stable throughout the SACS monitoring period, and health indicators were at levels typically observed.