Paris Braces for a Very Hot Future

Paris is bracing for a future when summer temperatures could reach a staggering 122 degrees Fahrenheit—a scenario that's no longer just science fiction, according to city officials and climate scientists. Faced with repeated record-breaking heat waves, the French capital is scrambling to prepare for breakdowns in everything from transportation to health care, the New York Times reports. During a recent crisis simulation, officials envisioned melted asphalt impeding ambulances, power blackouts from overheated cables, trains halted by warped rails, and hospitals forced to shut operating rooms because air-conditioning systems were not designed for temperatures higher than 109.

The threat isn't distant: Eight of Paris's 10 hottest summers since 1900 have happened since 2015, with scientists warning that Europe is heating up at twice the global average. If greenhouse emissions spike, extreme heat waves could become reality by 2050. Even if global climate pledges hold, officials say the city can't afford to gamble.

A city council committee found that temperature "tipping points" would trigger cascading failures. Schools, hospitals, and basic infrastructure would buckle, causing ripple effects citywide. Paris, with its dense population and old zinc-roof buildings, is considered the European capital most exposed to deadly heat, according to the Lancet. Nearly 15,000 died in a 2003 heat wave—an event climate experts say will soon be considered a cool summer.

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To adapt, Paris is ramping up green spaces, planting 15,000 trees last winter alone, and opening Seine river swimming spots for relief. Officials are pushing to turn schools into passive cooling centers and upgrading building insulation. Workplaces are now legally required to have extreme heat plans. Still, with a million poorly insulated apartments in the city, officials admit it's a "race against time." Paris has to decide how much change it prepares for—and how much it simply endures, says city councilor Alexandre Florentin, an environmental engineer.