Key points
- Critical infrastructure faces collapse risks
- Schools and hospitals are unprepared
- Trees and insulation key to survival
ISLAMABAD: Imagine Paris under 50°C heat — that is 122°F. Roads could soften, halting buses and emergency vehicles. Underground cables might overheat, cutting off power and communications. Trains could stop as tracks warp, leaving key workers stranded. These are not hypothetical scenarios — city authorities are actively preparing for them.
“A heat wave at 50 degrees is not a scenario of science fiction,” said Pénélope Komitès, Paris’s deputy mayor, referring to a 2022 crisis simulation. “It’s a possibility we need to prepare for,” reports The New York Times.
Climate hoaxers imagine Paris will turn into Death Valley with temperatures hitting 122°F (50°C). The communist mayor of Paris is preparing for this by moving to ban air conditioning. https://t.co/C8pNwJc6nlhttps://t.co/PTddrzvgHu pic.twitter.com/6fD0OeU8LC
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) August 18, 2025
France has already endured its second heat wave of the summer, with record highs in the southwest. Heat alerts covered most of the country. In Paris, eight of the ten hottest summers since 1900 have occurred since 2015. In 2019, the city reached a record 42.6°C.
Global climate pledges
Europe is warming at more than twice the global average. In 2022, Paris officials asked scientists if future heat waves could reach 50°C. The answer: possibly by 2050 if emissions continue rising. Such extremes may be avoided only if global climate pledges are met.
“I don’t think we should bet on that as a society,” said Alexandre Florentin, an environmental engineer and city councillor. He chaired a multi-party committee that published Paris at 50°C in 2023, identifying “temperature thresholds” that could trigger cascading system failures.
Your ‘moment of doom’ for Aug. 18, 2025 ~ Sooner than expected.
“In 2022, city officials asked climate scientists if Paris might experience heat waves that reach 50C [122F] in the near future. Their answer was yes, possibly … as soon as around 2050”https://t.co/fETXGJsZDr
— Prof. Eliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) August 18, 2025
In one example, a hospital director revealed their air conditioning is only designed for temperatures up to 43°C. Beyond that, surgeries would be cancelled and patients transferred — if other hospitals were not facing the same issue. “As long as that threshold is passed, we face domino effects,” Florentin said.
Rippling consequences
Schools also present vulnerabilities. “The classes will close, and that will have rippling consequences all through society,” he warned, especially if parents are key workers.
Florentin urged investment in green schoolyards and “passive” cooling features like geothermal systems. A 2023 Lancet study ranked Paris highest in Europe for heat-related deaths. The city’s dense population lives in uninsulated buildings with metal rooftops that amplify heat.
Paved squares and asphalt roads can raise local temperatures by up to 10°C. During a deadly 2003 heat wave, nearly 15,000 people died — many elderly residents in poorly ventilated flats. That event prompted France’s first national heat wave plan and a registry to monitor isolated citizens.
Outdated measures
But those measures are already outdated. “The climatologists tell us the 2003 heat wave will be considered a cool summer soon,” Florentin said. “We must prepare for much worse.”
In a simulation, officials staged a two-week heat wave peaking at 50°C. Children were moved to emergency shelters, including an old train tunnel and a car park. A follow-up exercise tested emergency coordination.
Imagine Paris at 122 degrees Fahrenheit — asphalt streets would melt, lights and fans could cut out, and trains would halt. Those are situations city officials are planning for. https://t.co/CjlGlDOfmY
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) August 19, 2025
“The big lesson… Parisians are not ready,” Komitès admitted.
Public initiatives are emerging. One nonprofit hosts “Eating at 50 degrees” events, with chefs creating no-cook meals. Another group, Health in 2050, gathers medical experts to plan for future health challenges.
Planning adaptations
Theatres are planning adaptations too. In May, a decree mandated heat emergency plans for all workplaces.
The city is removing asphalt to plant trees — 15,000 last winter. “The best natural air-conditioners in Paris are trees,” said deputy mayor Dan Lert.
Cooling misters, shade structures, and new Seine bathing spots offer relief. Insulation efforts are expanding, with 7,000 private flats upgraded annually, targeting 40,000 by 2030.
Still, one million flats remain. “It’s a race against time,” Florentin said. “The question is what percentage of change we want and prepare for, and what percentage we just suffer through.”
