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 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 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 high relative excess mortality rate 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 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region was also affected by the three successive heat waves. The first was observed in mid-June, the second during the second half of July, and the third in early August 2022. During these heatwave episodes, actual exceedances of biometeorological alert thresholds were observed in one department during the first episode (04), five departments during the second episode (04, 05, 06, 13, 84), and three departments during the third episode (04, 06, 84). A significant impact on health was observed during these periods:

  • An estimated 316 excess deaths occurred during the periods when biometeorological alert thresholds were exceeded in the affected departments, representing a relative excess mortality rate of +19% (primarily during the second episode and mainly among people aged 75 and older).

  • During the heatwave episodes, 264 SOS Médecins calls were recorded regionally for the iCanicule indicator, as well as 994 emergency room visits for the iCanicule indicator, 658 of which were followed by hospitalization. Use of emergency care accounted for up to 1% of daily emergency room visits during the episode in late July and 1.5% of daily SOS Médecins calls during the episodes in late July and early August. Although all age groups were affected, emergency room visits primarily involved those aged 75 and older, while SOS Médecins consultations primarily involved those under 15.