Paris’ elegant, narrow streets remain ill equipped to face intensifying heatwaves

(1 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Paris – 18 June 2024
1. Various aerial shots of French capital

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 1 July 2025
2. Various rooftops and buildings in Paris
3. Close of pharmacy temperature display showing 41 degrees celsius
4. Various of urban climatologist Erwan Cordeau walking along Paris street
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Erwan Cordeau, Urban climatologist:
"What is typical here is that we are in a Parisian street, a street often referred to as a canyon, meaning a narrow street with tall buildings lining it. And indeed, this creates particular effects in relation to the heat."
6. Zoom in of ‘canyon’ street in Paris
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Erwan Cordeau, Urban climatologist:
"The facades will alternately be sunlit and thus absorb heat. Then at night, when there is no more sunlight, this heat will be released in this type of street, creating a problem, meaning the street will struggle to cool down."
8. Mid of Paris street
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Erwan Cordeau, Urban climatologist:
"The closer we get to the more central districts, particularly the right bank of the city of Paris, temperatures can be +6 or +7 degrees (compared to leafier, more residential areas outside the city centre). These are nighttime cases. Therefore, the associated health risk is considerable during a heatwave event."
10. Mid of Paris rooftop
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Erwan Cordeau, Urban climatologist:
"Now, we also talk about vulnerability factors because beyond the heat, the overheating that can be measured during the day and night, there are also vulnerability factors. Are the residents more sensitive than elsewhere in these areas, due to the age of the population, or due to poor insulation of the housing?"
12. Various of Cordeau walking down street and heading to new urban development including park and modern buildings
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Erwan Cordeau, Urban climatologist:
"It’s large green ‘island’, a green ‘island’ at the heart of this new neighbourhood that has emerged, on former SNCF railway grounds and which offers several qualities: shading, rejuvenation, water management, irrigation, and effectively serves as a climate shelter for people when they experience pronounced thermal discomfort at home."
14. Pan of park surrounded by modern buildings
15. Mid bird in water
16. Various of Cordeau walking through park surrounded by modern residential buildings
17. SOUNDBITE (French) Erwan Cordeau, Urban climatologist:
"There are solutions. In some places it’s not possible to restore natural soil or vegetation, so we might consider technical solutions like shutters. It’s quite simple but when there are no shutters today, we’ve seen examples, shutters can be installed, solar shades are added to buildings, or even above a street where it’s not possible to add vegetation, we can indeed use shading textures as seen in Seville (in Spain) for instance."
16. Various of park

STORYLINE:
Paris’s elegant Haussmann facades and narrow, historic streets that enchant tourists by day, could soon turn against residents as brutal heatwaves bake the city.

Soaring temperatures this week have exposed how the capital’s storied architecture and dense urban "canyons" trap and radiate heat long after sunset, putting vulnerable populations at risk.

Urban climatologist Erwan Cordeau explained that sun-drenched limestone facades absorb massive amounts of heat during the day.

"Then at night, when there is no more sunlight, this heat will be released, meaning the street will struggle to cool down,” he told the Associated Press.

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