PARIS, France (AFP) — French health officials said on Tuesday that there were at least 300 more deaths than expected during a five-day heatwave in May, the country’s first of the year.

“We recorded 300 excess deaths, corresponding to an increase of nearly 14 percent,” said Caroline Semaille, director general of Public Health France, adding that the deaths were due to all causes combined and were not necessarily linked to elevated temperatures.

The May heat episode, “characterised by its early timing and intensity compared with seasonal norms, exposed a population not yet accustomed at that time of year to high temperatures, during a period when school and work activities are still in full swing,” the public health agency said.