Key Points

• In mainland France, according to Météo-France, the summer of 2022 ranks as the second-hottest summer recorded 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 events 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%), from all causes, occurred during heatwave periods in departments where biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded. The summer surveillance 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 relative excess mortality of +20%.

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

• The Pays de la Loire region was also affected by the three successive heat waves, as was the case nationwide: the first was observed in June, the second in July, and the third in August 2022. During these heatwave episodes, exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds were observed in one department during the first episode (85), in all five departments of the region during the second episode (44, 49, 53, 72, 85), and in one department during the third episode (44). A health impact was observed during these periods:

  • 175 excess deaths, all causes combined, were estimated during the heat waves in the departments affected by exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds, representing a relative excess mortality of +18% (primarily during the second episode, with the majority of those affected being aged 75 and older).

  • During the heat waves, 109 SOS Médecins calls were recorded regionally for the iCanicule indicator, as well as 197 emergency room visits for the iCanicule indicator, 124 of which were followed by hospitalization. Emergency care visits accounted for up to 0.6% of daily emergency room visits and 1.5% of daily SOS Médecins calls during the first heatwave episode in June. Although all age groups were affected, emergency room visits primarily involved people aged 75 and older, while SOS Médecins calls primarily involved those aged 15–74.