In a recent post shared on X, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati said, “Paris is the deadliest European capital in a heat wave,” and in nausea with David Belliard, the eco-friendly candidate for the Mayor’s competition for Paris 2026.
Belliade accused the French government of not dealing effectively with climate change, but Daty argued that Paris, led by socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, failed its duties despite multiple climate action plans.
When it comes to assessing excess mortality, Dati’s argument is somewhat true.
They can be traced back to a 2023 Researchentitled “Excessive Mortality Due to Fever and Cold,” published in the medical journal The Lancet. Based on data from 2000 to 2019, we assessed the rate of heat and cold overmortality in 854 European cities.
Researchers found London was the capital with the most excess deaths associated with the intense spells of cold climates, but Paris had the most excess deaths during the heat wave.
The heat wave in 2003 in particular led to record temperatures and thousands of deaths in Paris.
However, it is worth noting that other studies have identified other non-capital cities as having higher excess deaths during heat spells than Paris, such as Milan and Barcelona.
Why are these cities vulnerable to heat waves?
Big European cities often become “urban hot islands.” This is a phenomenon in which urban areas experience significantly higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.
This is because of the presence of artificial surfaces and materials such as concrete, buildings, and pavement. They absorb and retain more heat than natural landscapes such as trees and water bodies.
Paris and other cities have high population density and relatively few green spaces, the latter helping to lower temperatures.
But ultimately, experts say climate change and natural climate change are the root causes of serious urban heat waves.
“Temperature or thermal episodes in Paris and other cities in Europe are the result of natural climate variability and weather patterns affected by human-induced climate change,” Malcolm Mistry, an assistant professor of climate, and one of the authors of the study, Geospatial Modeling of the London School’s Faculty of Tropical Diseases, told Euro.
“The regions in Southern Europe and the regions near the Mediterranean (also warming rapidly) are prone to heat waves,” he added.
“This is evident from the intense heat waves of recent years in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and France. Also, sometimes in the spring and early summer, these are outside the influence of city planners or political decisions.”
Authorities can work on urban planning projects to address climate change, but other factors have a greater impact.
“Local factors such as geography can play a role, but at the end of the day, a natural, large-scale weather system can shut down the location, drawing warm, dry air, and keeping the location warm for a short period of time,” Mistry said.
The heatwave in 2003 led to record temperatures and thousands of deaths, but since then the government has been working on ways to deal with these crises.
“More lessons are being learned, and more weather and heat insurance warnings, thermal action plans and more are being implemented in France and several other European countries,” concluded Mistry.
