Every few minutes, the morgue director's phone rings. Since the record heatwave began claiming lives and depleting body storage space in Paris and its surrounding areas, funeral services and bereaved families have been calling Zouhaeir Hertelli, director of a funeral service and morgue, with virtually the same question.

With all 32 beds in his cold room fully occupied, Hertelli is forced to reply, "no", repeatedly. "We are facing a truly catastrophic situation", he said. "I am receiving hundreds of calls every day".

As the historic heatwave shifts its deadly heat eastward to affect other parts of Europe this weekend, France is just beginning to tally the severe human toll left by the natural disaster. Public health statistics and medical analysis of heat-related deaths could take weeks or months. However, the current reality is that the consequences of the extreme, intense, and prolonged heat are terrible for France, the first country to experience this disaster since mid-june, particularly for elderly people dying at home, according to AP.

"We are dealing with a surge in deaths, and the cold rooms are truly full, full, and full", Hertelli shared.

Zouhaeir Hertelli, director of a funeral service and morgue, steps out of his coffin storage facility near Orly airport in Paris on 28/6. Photo: AP

In its first preliminary assessment report, the French National Public Health Agency stated that the number of deaths surged during the peak days of last week's heatwave. This extreme weather event scorched much of France, with temperatures in many areas exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, also breaking nighttime temperature records.

More than 1,200 deaths occurred on 24/6, the day France recorded its hottest day in meteorological history, breaking a record set just the day before. In contrast, the average mortality rate before the heatwave in April and May ranged from 900 to 1,000 deaths per day. This number remained high with over 1,400 deaths on 25/6 and another 1,400 the next day.

The agency also noted that the estimated increase of at least 1,000 deaths during the 3 peak heatwave days is expected to rise further. The reason is that the system is still awaiting updated death certificates for those who died at home or in elderly care facilities, where most deaths have not yet been registered electronically.

"Consequently, the actual number of deaths will be much higher than these initial figures", the health agency emphasized.

The report indicated that 85% of the deaths recorded during the 3 peak days were among those aged 65 and older. Simultaneously, the number of people dying at home also increased sharply, by about 40%, particularly in the Paris area.

Hertelli and many others in the funeral industry reported that Paris morgues quickly ran out of storage space. The city hall stated it had to install two additional temporary storage units, each with a capacity of 20 spaces for city morgues, while hospitals also helped by providing an additional 50 spaces.

Despite this, Hertelli recounted that other funeral directors shared with him that they had to transport bodies as far as Chartres, 80 km from Paris, or to other towns surrounding the capital. To gain more space, he requested permission from authorities to temporarily install cold containers outside his morgue (next to Paris's Orly airport) but is still awaiting approval.

"Families are suffering", he said. "We have no solution to help them because all funeral homes are full. We are heartbroken and sympathize with them, but we are powerless. We are truly facing a major crisis".

The record heatwave in 2003 was attributed as the cause of 15,000 deaths, sparking a national crisis regarding elderly care, the group most severely affected. Additionally, over 5,700 deaths were recorded due to heat during a harsh summer last year.

Veronique Bertrand, a funeral service director in Paris, worries that society has forgotten lessons from the past, as most heatwave victims currently are elderly individuals living alone at home. She urged people to awaken and rekindle a spirit of mutual support, to care for and check on lonely neighbors, because this tragedy could recur with worse severity.