PARIS: Two heat waves in France that saw temperatures soar past 100 degrees Fahrenheit this summer resulted in 1435 deaths.
Agnes Buzyn, health minister, speaking on France Inter radio Sunday, said there were over 1,000 more deaths than the annual average for the time of the year, and half of those were aged over 75. She said there were 18 days of the recorded heatwave in France this year during June and July.
She noted, however, that it represented many fewer deaths than the scorching heatwave in 2003 that claimed 15,000 lives.
She said: “We have succeeded — thanks to prevention, thanks to workable messages the French population heeded — to reduce fatalities by a factor of 10.”
(Agencies)
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