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And, France does not have the capacity to deal with heatwaves the way Texas (or other hot climates in developed countries) can. A Thread./1
Because France is in a northern location with a cooler climate, they design their buildings to retain heat instead of shed heat. Thus, buildings are warmer and are not intended to cause airflow that would move heat out./2
Because the building stock is older, it is hard to retrofit homes and businesses to include air conditioning./3
But even for newer buildings that DO have air conditioning, the air conditioners have limited capacity and thus have trouble keeping up with the high temperatures./4
But even if the A/C's are big enough to keep up, the French are culturally attuned to save energy, so they set the room temperature at 78 or 80 F instead of 72 F like Americans use. Bus drivers and taxi drivers often leave the A/C off to save fuel, letting their riders suffer. /5
Limestone, granite and other rock is a typical building material, especially in the big urban areas like Paris. These rocks hold a lot of heat and reflect a lot of light. Urban areas without a lot of shade feel a whole lot hotter than the expected temperature./6
Public health officials will make swimming pools free and will make school just a half-day during heat-waves so kids can cool off. Schools today and yesterday were let out at lunchtime to prevent overheating by schoolchildren. /7
They also say that people should go to movies or shopping malls to cool off. BUT the shopping malls have weak A/C's and are crammed with people (who went there to cool off), so they are hot and stuffy. We went to a mall yesterday and it was hotter inside than outside. /8
When a heat wave like this hit in 2003, more than 15,000 people died in France alone, mostly elderly and children. Up to 70,000 people died Europewide. Elderly did not know to stay hydrated and did not have fans. Before cellphones it was harder for families to check in./9
Many doctors were on vacation b/c the heat wave was in August. Hospitals didn't recall them to work & even if they had, it's not clear the doctors would have returned. Doctors who were working did not work more than 35 hours/wk (the legal limit). So medical care was limited. /10
France does not have an "ice" culture the way Texas does. In Texas, ice is typical in water, tea, sodas, etc. In France, ice is not available at restaurants unless requested, and when provided, is usually like 2-3 cubes of ice for a glass of water. /11
Lastly, French homes do not have screens on windows the way American homes do. So, leaving windows open to let things cool off invites bugs and other critters into the home. /12
Even though I'm from Texas & used to heatwaves, hot summers, & scorching sidewalks, a 95 F day in Paris is hard to handle b/c there is no escape. The ubiquity of A/C, ice, swimming pools, shade, and screens on windows mean that hot days in Texas are much easier to manage./END
CC: @ElephantEating
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