Information - As part of the epidemiological surveillance system for drowning incidents implemented between June 1 and September 30, Santé publique France has identified a reporting gap regarding emergency department visits for drowning in certain regions of mainland France, which is likely leading to an underestimation of the total number of drowning incidents reported in this epidemiological update. Please note that the indicators corresponding to drowning incidents resulting in death collected by Snosan and the analyses regarding the characteristics of drowning incidents (by age and location) previously published are not affected.
As a reminder, these data are preliminary and will need to be consolidated in the coming weeks.

Key Points

• Between June 1 and August 2, 2023, 598 drownings were recorded in France, including 177 deaths (30%).

• Between 2021 and 2023, the total number of drownings over these nine weeks decreased by 25%¹. This decline is evident in June and the second half of July: respective decreases of 28% and 41% in the total number of drownings between 2021 and 2023. In June 2023, despite a nationwide temperature surplus of +2.5°C (making it the second-hottest June since 1946, behind 2003), weather conditions (temperatures, precipitation, and sunshine) were generally less favorable for swimming in the southern half of France, the area where drownings are usually most frequent. Furthermore, in 2021, the lifting of restrictions implemented to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with weather conditions favorable for swimming, may have contributed to the high number of drownings during that period. In the second half of July 2023, weather conditions were generally unfavorable for swimming (with below-average temperatures and heavy rainfall across the entire country except in the Mediterranean region and Corsica), unlike the same period in 2021 and 2022.

• The number of drownings resulting in death remained generally stable between 2021 and 2023. These deaths primarily involved adults: approximately 9 out of 10 drownings. The proportion of drownings resulting in death (number of deaths relative to the total number of drownings) increased from 22% in 2021 to 30% in 2023 and primarily affects adults: 52% versus 3% among children under 6 in 2023.

• The number of drownings and deaths remains high during this period. Drownings occur across all age groups and in all locations. These results underscore the need to continue drowning prevention efforts for all age groups.

1-Chi-square tests were conducted for all comparisons between the 2021, 2022, and 2023 data; the results presented are statistically significant at the 5% level.
2-The 2021 data from this surveillance system are not comparable to those from the 2021 NOYADES survey conducted by Santé publique France due to a different data collection methodology.