A report by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research (Insee) found a net increase in death rates in the country in July 2022. According to the organization, the phenomenon is explained by the “probably heat wave” experienced during this period.
(2) Released on Friday, the document is only a monthly update on the country’s death rates, but it has revived in the French memory bitter memories of the summer of 2003, one of the hottest in French history. That year, high temperatures killed more than 14,000 people, the vast majority of whom were elderly.
According to provisional data released by Insee, the daily death toll increased significantly in July of this year. Compared to 1,610 in June, an average of 1,750 people per day lost their lives this month due to various reasons. On July 19, the death toll reached 2,098, well above July 2021, with 1,777 deaths recorded on the 23rd.
The year 2022 started with a high death rate (2,150 in January), largely due to the fifth wave of Covid-19, but gradually dropped until the summer that began in June in the northern hemisphere.
For the report, Insee compared data from 2022, the period before the Covid-19 pandemic, and from 2021 to 2019.
heat wave
The country went through three extreme periods in the summer of 2022, according to information from Santé Publique France, the organization responsible for public health in France, which tracks the evolution of heat waves.
The first of them – it begins much earlier than usual and is considered atypical due to its intensity – June 15-22, the second – July 12-25, and the third – July 31 – until mid-August. During this period, peaks were observed in admissions to the intensive care unit.
The first death peak was observed on 19 June, exceeding 4% of deaths on the same date in 2019. In July, deaths exceeded 13% compared to the same period in 2019.
Relationship between heat and mortality
The relationship between heat and mortality is even stronger if the data are analyzed by region. The places where the most significant increase was seen are also the places most affected by high temperatures, such as the west, southwest and southeast of France.
Occitania, where the city of Toulouse is located, exceeded the average number of deaths observed in the region in 2022 by 19% in 2019. The increase was 18% in Provence and 17% in New Aquitaine. All these regions set records with temperatures above 40°C for several days in a row. For example, on June 19, the coastal city of Biarritz reached 43°C, with an average temperature of 26°C during this period.
human losses
The Insee report provides an overview of the period and human impact of high temperatures. In the summer of 2022, 138,522 French died, representing an increase of 5.7% from 2021 and 11.6% from 2019.
In France, the reference point remains the year 2003, which was engraved in the memory of the French with the warmest and worst human influence.
According to Insee figures, the heatwave in 2022 looks stronger than in 2003. But, according to the research institute, it is necessary to monitor these data carefully, because in addition to the heat wave in July 2022, France was also experiencing the seventh wave of Covid-19. According to information from Santé Publique France, the pandemic killed 704 people in the week of 21 July.
However, the two factors are not mutually exclusive and when combined can cause more deaths. The most sensitive to heat are the elderly, who are the main victims of Covid-19.
Adaption
Insee also insists on France’s need to adapt to rising temperatures. According to another study by the same institution, affiliated with the French meteorological institute Météo France and published on 30 August, the number of abnormally hot days and nights will increase over the next two decades, rising from 16 to 20 between 1975 and 2005.
An unusually hot day or night is not, by itself, a risky phenomenon, according to Santé Publique France. But their multiplication and succession turns into episodes called critical heat waves. In this case, it is important to observe the day and night temperatures, because the temperature drops at night allow the body to better withstand the heat of the day, especially in the elderly and frail.
“These heat spikes undermine the health of the most vulnerable people,” the report says. “Especially the elderly” draws attention in the document. According to the study, 14% of the French population currently lives in areas more prone to these temperature rises.
Currently, 880,000 people aged 75 and over – or 16% of this population in France – live in one of the most heat-exposed areas. The elderly are slightly more common in coastal areas of France, which are less subject to climatic anomalies in general. However, the Mediterranean coast, where cities such as Marseille and Nice are located, is the metropolitan area most exposed to high temperatures.
insecurity and vulnerability
The document also highlights that the most exposed French territories are home to around 1.2 million people living below the poverty line. They often live in isolated houses and work in construction or agricultural work, which is particularly difficult during periods of extreme heat.
Insee reminds that adapting to high temperatures is also a challenge for the tourism industry. 56 million hotel nights were booked on the Mediterranean coast in 2019. This represents 18% of summer attendance in France.
During this period, the population exposed to abnormally hot days increases. Also, according to Insee, tourists are more vulnerable and less adaptable to the heat because they are not from the region.
source: Noticias
