Paris mortuaries overflow as France counts heatwave dead

In one Paris mortuary, all 32 places in owner Zouhaeir Hertelli’s cold room were taken, and he was forced to turn callers away. Every few minutes the phone rang with the same request, and the answer was often the same: “Non.” Paris mortuaries and those in the surrounding region were already full to the brink as France counted the dead from an unusually early heatwave.

France estimated that its death rate rose by at least 1,000 people during the heatwave, with the final toll likely to climb as more death certificates arrived. Public Health France recorded more than 1,200 people dying on the day the country recorded its hottest-ever day, then more than 1,400 on each of the next two days. That compared with a pre-heatwave daily death rate of roughly 900 to 1,000 in April and May.

Hospitals in and around Paris were overwhelmed as temperatures rose. Paris police banned public alcohol consumption from June 26 and ordered organizers to cancel several events, including the pride march, to reduce pressure on emergency services.

The heatwave hit France in mid-June, far earlier than the summer extremes that many cities have plans for. Human-caused climate change from burning fossil fuels is making such intense European heat more likely. The French national weather service expected some areas to rise above 40C, or 104F, as the hot spell moved eastward after first battering France. Authorities had already set and then broken the hottest June day on record.