Experts say the factors behind France’s heat wave this summer are common in Europe and North America - and higher temperatures linked to global warming mean a similar disaster could easily happen again.
"We have to recognize that in the next years and decades, these episodes of heat waves will even be more frequent, sometimes even more severe", said Roberto Bertollini, an environmental health expert with the World Health Organization.
The country is far from fully figuring out why so many died, but early assessments point to several factors: a rapidly aging society, a health care system short on care for the elderly, and low awareness of environmental health hazards.
At the World Climate Change Conference, which takes place in Moscow, Russian Federation from 29 September unti 3 October, the WHO Regional Office for Europe will present new data on the health effects of extreme weather events such as heat-waves and flooding.
