When heatwaves strike, Paris is not usually the hottest part of France – but the capital is over-represented when it comes to excess deaths during hot weather. Here’s a look at what makes heat so dangerous in Paris.
During the June 2026 heatwave, deaths in the Paris region doubled, public health authorities have reported.
Although the soaring temperatures proved deadly all over the country, the nationwide excess death figure was about 30 percent, making Paris an outlier in terms of heat fatalities.
That was obvious even while the heatwave was going on – after almost 10 days of soaring temperatures hospitals and emergency services in the capital were saturated, leading local authorities to bring in strict measures such as a ban on the sale or consumption of alcohol in public places.
But if you look at the weather maps, Paris was not the hottest part of France – although temperatures repeatedly topped 40C, down in the south of the country they were topping 43C while the south-east also saw a much longer period of extreme heat than in northern France.
And this is not a one-off event, a study in the Lancet Planet Health journal in 2023 found that Paris had the highest heat-related death rates of 854 European towns and cities.
So what is it about Paris that makes heat so deadly?
Heat sink – this applies to all cities, but the ‘heat sink’ effect means that heatwaves are usually more intense in cities than the countryside, as concrete soaks up the heat and reflects it back. Add to this the heat-creating effect of humans – from vehicles to AC units – and the city is not the place to be.
Paris has two extra disadvantages – it has a severe lack of green space, and the city itself sits in a hollow, meaning that the hot air gets trapped – Paris is regularly 10C hotter than the surrounding area during a heatwave.
Urban design – but the real problem with Paris is that it is simply not designed for the heat. Head down south to the French cities of Nice or Montpellier, and you’ll find that the temperature is just as hot (maybe hotter), but the experience is more bearable. That’s because these cities were designed with hot summers in mind – they have narrow shady streets, buildings with thick walls and small windows and plenty of shade in public spaces.
Paris was not designed like this because until recently it didn’t get very hot there, and some aspects of the urban design are aimed at keeping heat in, rather than letting it out.
The rapidly warming planet means that even northern cities are now exposed to the sort of temperatures that were once only seen along the Mediterranean coast.
Housing – the same goes for the city’s housing, much of which is extremely energy inefficient. The June heatwave death toll is for the greater Paris region, not just the city itself, so includes the poorer suburbs which tend to be filled with poorly constructed modern tower blocks that turn apartments into furnaces in summer.
In those low-income areas, most people rent so cannot make major changes to their homes, and may not be able to afford to buy or run air conditioning units.
Samira, a resident in Ris-Orangis in Essonne, told the Guardian newspaper in June: “Blazing sun hits my windows all day – I can’t breathe, I feel dizzy, there is no air.
“My home is an oven, it’s unbearable. I can only use a fan for short bursts, for fear of electricity costs. I only get two hours’ sleep a night. I’m exhausted. The days feel endless trying to protect my son from the heat. And I know these temperatures are only going to get worse in time.”
Roofs – even within the richest areas of the capital, the architecture conspires against the inhabitants. The capital’s distinctive grey roofs are made of zinc, which is a very poor insulator.
During the June heatwave, a video went viral of a man cooking a crêpe on the zinc roof of his apartment – which seems funny until you realise that the people who live in the top-floor apartments under the roof are four times more likely to die during a heatwave than those who live on the lower floors.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Why Paris’ zinc rooftops are hot enough to cook a crêpe
Air conditioning – homes in Paris mostly do not have air conditioning, and while offices often do, the majority of schools and hospitals don’t.
As many people rent, rather than buy, in Paris, they are left with the choice of either hoping that their landlord decides to shell out for AC, or buying the expensive and inefficient portable units if they can afford to.
Poverty – heatwaves do not affect everyone equally. Paris has a younger-than-average demographic meaning that there are fewer of the group most vulnerable to extreme heat: the elderly.
However, the surrounding suburbs, especially in the département of Seine-Saint-Denis, have high rates of poverty and deprivation – people living in poverty are more likely to be living in unsafe housing and less likely to be able to afford to make changes such as buying and running an AC unit.
They are also less likely to have access to green spaces or facilities like swimming pools, more likely to be doing outdoor work and more likely to have chronic health problems.
Changes
The city of Paris has long been aware of the challenges it faces and in 2023 ran a series of emergency planning exercises designed to look at what happens when the city finally hits 50C.
From these exercises, a resilience plan has been drawn up, and work is ongoing to do things like plant more trees, create green spaces, adapt buildings and improve the city’s heatwave preparations.
READ ALSO: Grass roofs and siestas: How Paris is preparing for the day temperatures hit 50C