PARIS: France recorded 5,764 more deaths than usual during a

record-breaking heatwave last month

, health authorities said on Wednesday (Jul 22), describing the excess mortality among people aged 15 and older as "unprecedented".

It was the

highest excess mortality rate during a heatwave

in the country since a devastating episode of high temperatures in 2003 that killed around 15,000 people, they added.

Three heatwaves have swept across France since May, the latest in increasingly frequent such extreme weather events that scientists have linked to made-made climate change.

The soaring temperatures caused havoc in a country where many homes, schools and hospitals are not designed for heat and do not have air conditioning.

They have also dried up riverbeds and sparked wildfires, including one that last week ravaged a tenth of the vast UNESCO-listed forest of Fontainebleau outside Paris.

The extra deaths between Jun 17 and Jul  2 this year were due to "all causes" - none yet clearly linked to the heat, Sante Public France said, saying final figures would be published in the autumn.

In comparison, the country reported 5,722 excess fatalities linked to high temperatures between June and mid-September last year.

Of the excess deaths last month, around two-thirds were people aged 75 or older, while less than a fifth were aged 45 to 64.

Half passed away in just three days from Jun 25 to 27.