France has seen 301 drownings since 19 June, a authorities minister has said, linking the sharp rise in deaths in contrast to last 12 months to the extended heatwaves.

Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari instructed France Inter radio the quantity of deaths – a 14% hike on 2025 – was a “tragic toll”.

France, Spain and Italy have been hit by heatwaves, which have triggered large wildfires that scorched hundreds of hectares of land.

Ferrari said folks have been taking dangers by going into the water, including: “Many deadly accidents have occurred in areas that are not authorised or supervised for swimming.”

She said a quantity of the drownings were recorded in “open water, in canals for example”.

Ferrari said the authorities was working with regional authorities “to improve swimming areas and make things safer”.

Speaking on Friday, she added that “many drownings, particularly among the elderly, occurred in individual pools”.

The minister said that sudden immersion in chilly water on a sizzling day could cause shock, and in some instances “people can also exceed their physical capabilities”.

In June, Ferrari warned that too many folks were attempting to cool off in rivers and canals with out essentially taking the dangers into account.

Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world – but significantly in Europe.

It is the quickest warming continent, heating up twice as quick as the international common, according to the Copernicus local weather service., exterior