France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during June heatwave

A worker drinks water at a construction site in Bordeaux at the height of France’s June heatwave. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A worker drinks water at a construction site in Bordeaux at the height of France’s June heatwave. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during June heatwave Figures come as large parts of southern Europe endure another record-breaking period of extreme temperatures France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its June heatwave, authorities have said, as swathes of southern Europe continue to endure another record-breaking period of extreme temperatures. The French national health agency said on Wednesday that it had recorded 5,764 excess deaths ⁠between ​17 June and 2 July, an excess mortality rate of 36%. More than half of the “unprecedented” total were recorded between 25 and 27 June, with deaths of people aged ⁠75 and older accounting for about two-thirds ​of ​the excess mortality, the agency said. Those who lost their lives between June 17 and July 2 died of “all causes”, none yet clearly linked to the heat, it said. France reported slightly fewer excess deaths – 5,722 – over the whole summer last year. The announcement came as firefighters in Spain battled one of the country’s largest ever wildfires, which has burned about 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) in the Guadalajara region north of Madrid, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 people from 34 villages in the sparsely populated area and confinement orders in 14 others. View image in fullscreen A firefighter works to contain part of the Guadalajara wildfire. Photograph: UME/AFP/Getty Images Authorities said on Wednesday that the fire was beginning to stabilise, and residents of five villages were allowed to return home. The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on a visit to the area that Spain had already suffered 22 major wildfires so far this year, four times more than in the same period last year. More than 100,000 hectares had burned, the same as the whole-year average over the past decade, he said, adding that more must be done to prevent fires. “We must raise public awareness and we not trivialise the climate emergency,” he said. The national weather agency, Aemet, said the danger of wildfires remained “very high or extreme” and was expected to increase further in the coming days. It urged people to exercise extreme caution amid highs of 42-44C and a dry westerly wind. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent and scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, while also creating conditions for sudden, destructive storms. The Guadalajara fire comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expatriate community in southern Spain, killing 13 people including several foreigners in one of the country’s deadliest wildfires on record. Spain’s ecological trans