Public Health France published this Thursday, August 12, its report on the drownings registered since June 1 in France. There were some 700 accidental drownings, including 168 deaths, between June and early August. This figure, which is lower than that of the previous survey (2018), can be explained by the climate not very inclined to swimming.
At the beginning of the summer, the health agency was concerned about a high number of drownings that had occurred between June and July (300 including 79 deaths), an assessment that could have been worsened according to the post-containment statement (poor physical condition, increase in weight ..).
Over a longer period, from June 1 to August 8, SpF listed 700 “documented” accidental drownings, including 168 deaths, according to preliminary results of its “Drownings” survey conducted every three years.
Compared to the same period in 2018, these accidents were reduced by 22% (889 drownings, including 198 deaths). “There is a notable drop in the first half of July and the first days of August,” a period in which the weather was particularly gloomy, Aymeric Ung, head of the investigation, told AFP.
In 2018, “the weather conditions had been ideal most of the summer, with a period of heat wave between the end of July and the beginning of August”, more conducive to swimming, he adds.
But the summer of 2021 is not over and the risk will increase with the strong heat that is announced in part of France, warns the epidemiologist.