PARIS – France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heat wave sweeping Europe, the ​public health agency said on Sunday, warning that ‌the true figure was likely to be higher.

Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the ​fatalities involved older people and that it expected ​the mortality rate to rise as more information ⁠became available about deaths in residential care and homes.

Europeans ​have been enduring blistering conditions during a heat wave that has ​been linked to dozens of deaths — shattering records, disrupting power generation and damaging infrastructure.

Scientists have said the heat wave, which began on ​June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, ​where the climate is changing faster than the global average.

Extreme heat eases in France

The heat wave has been moving east.

But while France’s weather agency said the extreme heat had diminished in most parts of the country, some areas in the ​northeast were still ​under a ⁠heat wave advisory.

Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune newspaper that the impact of ​the heat wave could linger for as long ​as ten ⁠days after the weather had ebbed.

“The episode is not finished,” she told broadcaster BFM.

Most of the deaths involved ⁠people ​aged 65 and older, though the ​health effects of the extreme heat affected all categories of the population, ​Sante Publique said.