France detected 400 more deaths than what is considered usual on average in the days that the heat wave that the country recorded lasted, especially in its southern half, last August, which represents a 5.4% increase, this indicated. Wednesday sources from the French health services.
This excess mortality, which includes all types of causes, It mainly affected “people over 75 years of age”, according to a report prepared by Santé Publique France (SPF), the state agency in charge of surveillance in health matters.
The excess mortality figure does not refer to the country as a whole, but to the 52 departments – out of a total of 101 in metropolitan France – that They were affected by the heat wave that lasted between August 11 and 26.
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These territories account for 46.3% of the population of metropolitan France and, among them, 19 were on red alert due to the heat, the highest level of meteorological risk, in four different regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, New Aquitaine, Occitania and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
“The impact on mortality varied from one department to another, depending in particular on the duration (number of days of heat wave) and the intensity (temperature) of the episode,” SPF indicated.
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“The regions with the highest departmental excesses were Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with 169 extra deaths (+7.3%), and New Aquitaine with 120 (+9.5%). The relative excess observed in the departments in red alert (+5.5%) is comparable to the relative excess in the other departments (+5.3%)”, the health agency pointed out.
During the period studied No fatal work accidents were reported. But the report also highlights that these conclusions do not summarize the effects of heat on the health of the French population, which has been exposed to several waves of heat waves this summer.
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“Heat is a health risk, even outside of heat wave periods, and it is necessary to implement management and prevention measures to reduce the impact of heat on the population,” stressed the national health agency. France.
Subsequently, a total balance of the health impact of the different heat waves and “more generally, of the exposure of the French population to extreme heat throughout the summer of 2023.”
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