Paris, July 22 -- France recorded 5,764 excess deaths during the exceptional heat wave that swept across the country between June 17 and July 2, marking the highest excess mortality since the devastating 2003 heat wave, Public Health France said on Wednesday.
The public health agency cautioned that it is not yet possible to definitively attribute the increase in all-cause mortality to the heat, and said the figures remain provisional pending further consolidation in the coming months.
Excess mortality was recorded across all age groups aged 15 and above, with a particularly sharp rise among people aged 45 and older.
The agency described the age pattern as "unprecedented."The revised estimate includes death certificates that were not capt...