Some morgues in France are overloaded after a record heat wave

On June 29, France began counting deaths due to heat, in the context that funeral industry representatives said morgues in Paris were overloaded due to a sudden increase in the number of deaths during the recent record heat wave. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu chaired a meeting on the impact of this heat wave, which has now eased on June 28, after several days of extreme heat that disrupted daily life, causing many schools and famous tourist attractions to close.

Prime Minister Lecornu’s office said the government will prepare plans to respond to future extreme heat waves, a phenomenon that scientists confirm is a consequence of climate change.

Ms. Elisabeth Charrier, head of the French National Funeral Association, said the occupancy rate at funeral homes nationwide has soared to over 66%, while this figure in the summer normally ranges from 30% to 45%. She added that morgues in some localities were overloaded, especially in urban areas.

“The biggest difficulty is currently in the center of Paris, where both of the only funeral homes have been fully booked since last Friday,” AFP quoted Ms. Chararrier as sharing. “People have to move outside of Paris, to the near suburbs, far suburbs, even further, to find a place to hold funerals and pay their respects to the deceased.”

Ms. Charrier also warned of a “domino effect” in the coming days. “What could make the situation more complicated is that waiting times to be cremated or buried at cemeteries will be extended,” she added. “Cemetery staff can’t dig graves any faster and cremation slots are filling up very quickly.”

French health officials said on June 28 that since Wednesday, June 24, last week, when France recorded the highest temperature in meteorological history, the number of deaths has increased by about 1,000 compared to the same period in previous months. Of those who died, up to 85% were people aged 65 or older. The sharpest increase in deaths is in private homes, especially in Paris and surrounding areas.

The opposition criticized the authorities for saying the government was completely unprepared for extreme weather conditions. On social network

On the contrary, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez defended the government’s response measures. “No, this is absolutely not a failure,” he affirmed in the daily newspaper The Parisian. He added that the temperature rising to a record high, far exceeding seasonal weather patterns like this, is completely unprecedented. “In the long term, we clearly need to consider the level of universal air conditioning in France and even before that, we need to change the way public buildings are built,” he said.

At the meeting on June 29, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu defended the government’s response measures, affirming that the plans deployed to deal with this historic heat wave have “worked well”. He said the first air conditioners ordered for hospitals will be delivered “late this week or early next week”.

“Our absolute priority is that if this phenomenon happens again, the situation in hospitals must be under much better control,” he said.