As temperatures rise world-wide and Europe’s summers get hotter, Paris is thinking ahead to what life would be like when, as experts predict, city temperatures top 50°C, or 122°F, and what can be done to prepare.
The grim prospect and possible action are outlined in a report prepared by a bipartisan group of Paris elected officials and a consultant. The report, which points out ways in which Paris is especially unsuited for extreme temperatures, calls for a ‘big bang’ of changes ahead of the prediction that Paris will hit 50 degrees within 30 years.
Some of the Parisian features that add to the problem are among its most emblematic features: the broad boulevards and zinc-topped roofs that are a legacy of the 19th century rebuilding of the city under Haussmann. The report speaks of the zinc-topped roofs as a ‘heat sink,’ and points out that the boulevards, while they are broad, are areas of vast pavement rather than green lungs that can moderate the heat. Population density also adds to the problem.
At 50 degrees, the report says, it is likely that power grids would fail or shut down because of overheating, that roads and airports would be closed by melting asphalt and that apartments would become uninhabitable—and that thousands would die. In a 2003 heatwave, Paris saw 15,000 ‘excess deaths.’ Measures taken since have lowered the risk, but higher temperatures would ramp it up again.
The problem, of course, is not that of one apocalyptic day, but of a general rising of temperatures, with Paris already 10 degrees hotter than its surrounding areas, and new heat records, as high as the mid 40s, being set regularly.
The report calls for major changes in the city’s infrastructure, with an immediate start; some of the recommendations are based on measures already in place in Mediterranean cities. Among the recommendations are
- A ban on new glass-facade buildings which can’t be naturally cooled and in fact concentrate heat
- Replacement of zinc roofs, designed to keep heat in, with other materials, as well as painting the roofs white to reflect heat rather than absorb it. Where possible, the report says, roofs could be covered in plants
- More shade, including continuing expanded tree planting, but also including umbrellas and awnings to shade sidewalks and other public spaces
- Expanded networks of ‘cool rooms’ to point people toward nearby public cool spaces. This would include naturally cool buildings like stone churches that would not be affected by air conditioning failure.
- More drinking fountains and cool mist sprays in public places
- Altering the workday to match patterns in hotter areas, with work being shifted to cooler parts of the day with breaks between
