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Record-breaking heat waves in France this summer caused the deaths of nearly 1,500 people, France health ministry announced.

Deadly heat waves hit France June and July this year. On June 28, the highest temperature of 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in the country at Verargues in the south.

The country’s health ministry said that a total of 1,465 more people than usual died June and July alone, sending the death rate soaring 9.1 percent on average for that period.

But the Minister of Health, Agnes Buzyn, said the deaths were significantly low compared to France’s heat wave in the summer of 2003 that killed 15,000 people

“The 2003 heat wave lasted 20 days. We had 18 days in two waves and we managed to cut mortality by a factor of 10 thanks to preventative measures,” Buzyn told France Info and France Inter radio stations.

July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded on the planet, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees for the month of July, the agency said in a statement.

The previous hottest month in the NOAA’s record was July 2016.

France, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany were among European countries that experienced record-breaking temperatures this summer