PARIS: France on Monday counted its heat-related deaths, as a funeral business representative said Paris morgues have been overwhelmed by a spike in fatalities during a record-breaking heatwave.
The government defended its response to the heatwave, which eased on Sunday after days of punishing temperatures that disrupted daily life and forced the closure of many schools and landmark tourist attractions.
Few homes in France are equipped with air-conditioning units, and most schools are not designed to cope with extreme heat. Elisabeth Charrier, head of the National Funeral Federation, said funeral home occupancy — which typically ranges between 30 percent and 45pc during the summer — has climbed above 66pc nationwide.
In some locations, mortuaries reached full capacity, particularly in urban centres, she added. “The main difficulty is in central Paris, where the only two funeral homes have been at full capacity since last Friday,” Charrier said.
Italy and Balkans face soaring temperatures
“People have to go outside Paris — into the inner or outer suburbs, or even further — to find space and be able to pay their respects.” She warned of a “domino effect” in the coming days.
“What may complicate matters is the extension of waiting times for cremation slots or burial space in cemeteries,” she added. “Cemetery staff cannot dig graves much faster, and cremation slots fill up very quickly.” French health officials said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than during the same period in previous months since Wednesday last week, when France was at its hottest since records began.
Eighty-five percent of those who died were aged 65 and over, they said. The sharpest increases involved people dying at home, especially in Paris and its suburbs, they added.
Italy and Balkans
Italy and the Balkans felt the impact on Monday of a record-breaking heatwave that has caused hundreds of excess deaths and disrupted daily life across the continent for more than a week, with growing concerns over the spread of wildfires. Across the Atlantic, the National Weather Service warned of “dangerous heat with temperatures in the 90s and lower 100s (degrees Fahrenheit) across much of central and eastern US,” in the days before the July 4 celebrations on Saturday, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“The combination of prolonged daytime heating and limited nighttime relief will increase the risk of heat-related illnesses, especially for vulnerable populations and those without adequate cooling,” the National Weather Service added. For Western Europe, where temperatures have dipped from record June highs, there was also a warning that the heat was likely to build again next week.
In Italy, 22 cities from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the southern island of Sicily were covered on Monday by a red heat warning. Pilgrims at the Vatican used fans to cool themselves and sheltered under umbrellas for shade as Pope Leo delivered his Angelus message from a balcony to the crowd below on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a holiday in the city of Rome.
Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2026