Heat-Related Death Statistics: US and France Data, Year by Year

Last updated: September 17, 2026. This table is refreshed each time the CDC or Santé Publique France publishes a new report.

How many people die from heat each year in the United States? CDC mortality data (National Vital Statistics System / CDC WONDER) recorded 2,394 heat-related deaths in the US in 2024, bringing the cumulative total since 2020 to more than 9,436 deaths. Heat is now the deadliest weather-related hazard in the country, killing more Americans annually than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined.

How many people die from heat each year in France? Santé Publique France attributed more than 5,700 deaths to heat during the summer of 2025 alone, and estimates close to 40,000 heat-attributable deaths since 2017 across the country's successive heatwave seasons. A single heatwave, from June 17 to July 2, 2026, was linked to a preliminary 5,764 excess deaths, the most severe episode since the historic August 2003 heatwave (an estimated 15,000 deaths).

United States: heat-related deaths, year by year (CDC)

France: heat-attributable deaths, year by year (Santé Publique France)

Why these numbers are likely floors, not ceilings

Both the CDC and Santé Publique France note that their own tallies likely undercount the true toll. Heat is frequently a contributing rather than the listed cause of death, masked by the cardiovascular, renal, or respiratory event it triggers. Excess-mortality studies, which compare observed deaths to the number expected over a given period, tend to find higher totals than statistics based on heat-specific cause-of-death codes alone.

Who the data shows is most at risk

In both countries, adults 75 and older account for the majority of deaths from classic heat stroke, up to two thirds of the toll in some episodes according to Santé Publique France. But a significant share of heat-related emergency visits affects people aged 15 to 44, an age range where exertional heat stroke, triggered by intense physical exertion rather than ambient exposure alone, is the more likely mechanism. This population includes firefighters on extended operations, military personnel in training, construction and agricultural workers, and endurance athletes.

What these numbers mean for field teams

These national statistics translate, at the individual level, into a single operational requirement: cool any suspected heat stroke case immediately, before transport. The "Cool First, Transport Second" protocol (ACSM 2023, IOC/BJSM 2021, Casa et al. 2007, Korey Stringer Institute) remains the international standard of care for exertional heat stroke. It only works if immersion cooling equipment is actually on site, deployable in under 2 minutes by a single operator, rather than stored in a distant depot. Details at kollder.com/#contact.

Further Reading

• Heat-Related Deaths in the US: Mortality Trends Year After Year
• Two Decades of Public Health Heat Response
• Été 2025 : 5 700 morts, le bilan de Santé Publique France (FR)
• Emergency cooling tubs for EMS and hospital emergency departments
• Emergency cooling tubs for civil protection organizations
• Request a Kollder Quote

Sources

• CDC, National Vital Statistics System / CDC WONDER, heat-related deaths (ICD-10 codes X30, T67, P81.0)
• JAMA, Yuan et al., Heat-Related Mortality in the United States, 1999-2023, 2024
• Santé Publique France, Chaleur et santé, bilan de l'été 2025, February 26, 2026
• Santé Publique France, heatwave excess mortality report for June 17-July 2, 2026, July 22, 2026
• Santé Publique France, annual heatwave reports and excess mortality bulletins, 2003-2026