France Records More Than 5,800 Excess Deaths as Heat and Wildfires Grip Southern Europe

France recorded at least 5,764 excess deaths during last month's heat, the country's deadliest such event since 2003, Euronews reported. The toll reflects the human cost of a heat pattern that is now recurring earlier and more intensely across the continent.

The heat has also driven wildfires. The South China Morning Post reported that fires burned across Sicily, southwestern France, and central Spain, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, three firefighters killed, and thousands evacuated.

The strain is not confined to Europe. In Japan, more than 10,857 people were taken to hospital for heatstroke in a single week, more than double the same period a year earlier, according to the Japan Times. Together the figures show a seasonal shock that affects labor productivity, energy demand, and agriculture across the northern hemisphere.