At least 3,700 excess deaths were recorded in France, Belgium and the Netherlands during the late‑June heat wave that drove temperatures above 40°C (104°F). Experts described it as Europe’s worst on record, warning that the toll is preliminary and likely to rise.
France registered 2,025 excess deaths, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said, a 29.1 per cent increase over normal figures, reports DW.
Public Health France reported that while people over 65 accounted for most fatalities, deaths among 45‑64‑year‑olds also spiked.
Between 22-28 June, deaths at home rose by more than 90 per cent compared to the previous week, with increases also seen in nursing homes and healthcare facilities. “Mortality will be higher than these initial figures suggest,” the authority cautioned.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu now faces a possible no‑confidence vote in parliament over his government’s handling of the crisis, which forced school closures and train cancellations.
In Belgium, the Health Ministry reported 1,222 additional deaths between June 18–29, about 39 per cent above normal. “Such a level of excess mortality during a heat wave is unprecedented in our country,” the ministry said, citing seven consecutive “tropical days” above 30°C (86°F) and unusually warm nights.
The peak came on 26 June, when most of the country was under orange or red alerts. Authorities cancelled numerous events, including a reenactment of the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.
On the other hand, Dutch authorities said the heat wave caused around 480 excess deaths, mainly in the south and east where temperatures were highest. As in France and Belgium, most victims were older people.
Records broken across Europe
More than two‑thirds of Europe’s 410 million people experienced temperatures above 35°C during the heat wave, AFP analysis found. All‑time records fell in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with June records broken in the UK and Switzerland.
France endured record average temperatures, including its hottest nights ever. The country had already faced an unusually early heat wave in May, which caused at least 300 excess deaths. By comparison, about 15,000 people died in France during the severe 2003 heat wave.
Air conditioning debate
Politicians have faced criticism for failing to prepare for rising temperatures. The share of French households with air conditioning rose from 18 per cent in 2023 to 24 per cent in 2025, according to state agency Ademe.
In contrast, nearly 90 per cent of US households had air conditioning in 2020, US Energy Information Administration data show.
Long resistant to air conditioning on environmental grounds, many French households are now buying units. A survey cited by AFP suggested that up to eight in ten once considered air‑con environmentally unfriendly.
Yet on 22 June, supermarket giant Carrefour sold 30,000 units by 6:30pm — “a thousand times more than on a normal day,” CEO Alexandre Bompard said.
