The French, desperate due to a historic heatwave: it is hotter in Paris than in Cairo or Bangkok

ParisThe image of long queues in front of large appliance stores every day first thing in the morning, before they open, to buy an air conditioner or a fan, best explains the desperation of the French after nine days of a historic, intense and long heatwave, with daytime and nighttime temperatures that have broken all records. Managing to buy an air conditioning unit has become an impossible mission. Stocks have run out.

72 out of 96 departments in the Hexagon are on red alert, the highest, this Thursday. With 30 ºC, France registered on Wednesday the highest average temperature in its history since records began. The previous records were registered in July 2019 and August 2003, with 29.8 ºC. France experienced a historic heatwave in 2003, also very long, like the current one, which caused the death of 15,000 people. This Wednesday, Paris registered 41 ºC during the day, and Bordeaux and Nantes, 42 ºC. Night temperatures have not dropped below 25 ºC in many cities for days. It is hotter in the French capital than in cities like Cairo (Egypt), Casablanca (Morocco) or Bangkok (Thailand). To understand the exceptionality of these temperatures, one only needs to look at the records: in a normal June, the maximum temperature in Paris is between 22 and 26 ºC.

For now, there are no official figures for deaths associated with the heat, but the mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, has assured that there are some, without giving further details. In an interview with BFMTV, an emergency doctor warned that people have even died from the high temperatures in hospitals, because there are hospital centers without air conditioning. This Thursday, moreover, it became known that a three-year-old child died on Wednesday inside a vehicle in the town of Saint-Germain, in the Paris region. The child had allegedly been locked inside the vehicle and the parents found him already unconscious due to the high temperatures. This week, also in France, two more children died in similar circumstances.

Sources from the Ministry of Health have admitted that mortality has increased due to the heatwave, but warn that it is too early to provide figures. The only official data is that of deaths by drowning: in nine days of heatwave, almost 50 people have died by drowning.

Public transport without air conditioning

France is not used to or prepared for high temperatures because it is not usually too hot. In a large part of the country, there are quite a few rainy days and mild temperatures in the summer. This means that air conditioning is not widespread, and when there is a heatwave lasting more than two days, the country collapses. An example is the railway service, which has been heavily affected since the start of the heatwave. There is no air conditioning on suburban trains or on some medium-distance trains. In the Paris region, its president has asked citizens to avoid taking suburban trains (RER) unless strictly necessary. Inside the carriages, the temperature can exceed 40 ºC.

On other medium or long-distance lines where trains are air-conditioned, heat causes electrical overloads that leave the air conditioning system out of order. For nine days now, the French railway company (SNCF) has cancelled hundreds of trains and cancelled some lines. In Paris, only seven out of sixteen metro lines are air-conditioned. There are also buses without air conditioning. Most bars, restaurants, shops, and public administrations are also not air-conditioned. The Louvre Museum is only partially air-conditioned, mainly in the rooms where paintings are exhibited.

Schools closed

Schools are also not air-conditioned. Considering that in France the school year does not end until July 3rd, the high temperatures of this heatwave are posing a real problem for students and teachers, with classrooms that feel like ovens. Some schools have opted to close their doors, and others, to open only in the morning. This Thursday, 13,500 schools are closed or have shortened their hours.

Thousands of students have had to stay home, even though the alternative is not much better. In the capital, most apartments are small and also not prepared for high temperatures. According to a study last year based on data from real estate portal advertisements, only 6% of apartments in Paris are air-conditioned. The city hall has decided to open parks 24 hours a day so that citizens can spend the night there.

Given the lack of measures taken by city councils or the government, parents' associations have mobilized to prevent school closures: in some public schools in Paris, families have bought cardboard to put on the windows to darken the classrooms —French schools do not usually have shutters—, and in others, they have mobilized to buy air conditioners.