Temperature and pollution levels rise as Paris sizzles

The Ile-de-France will sizzle under a blazing sun until Friday. The result will be a rise in pollution forcing authorities to implement reduced speed limits in the region and the opening of rooms where people can cool off in Paris.

Sunbathing in People Colleville-Montgomery, north-western France recently AFP

"We will most likely move the Ile-de-France in orange vigilance (the second highest vigilence level) for a three-day heatwave episode" Patrick Galois of Météo France said.

"We expect spikes of around 35 °c in the afternoon in Paris, Thursday and maybe Friday," he added. "The nights should warm up gradually, with minimum temperature of around 21 and 22 °c, or even more during the night from Thursday to Friday to has high as 23-24 C°.”

Temperatures are expected to fall on Saturday to normal levels for the season, before rising again next week.

As a result of the heat there has been an increase in ozone levels, the corrosive gas which promotes asthma and can aggravate cardiovascular or respiratory disorders,

To try to reduce pollution, the speed-limit in the Ile-de-France was reduced on Tuesday by 20 km/h, while the heavier trucks of more than 3.5 tons will have to bypass the Parisian agglomeration.

The differentiated traffic, which bans the traffic of the most polluting cars according to their Crit'Air vignettes in the capital, could be activated as the situation develops, according to police.

The prefecture also called for a reduction in the functioning of fixed installations in industries whose emissions of volatile organic compounds aggravate the problems.

Meanwhile, cool rooms are open between 14h and 18h in borough halls or in social centres acorss the city of Paris. The application “Extreme Paris ", available on smartphone, allows uses to identify islands of ‘freshness’, such as parks or churches.

Other rooms are open in accommodation facilities for dependent elderly persons (EHPAD).

The thermometer will also climb in other areas, without necessarily reaching scorching levels. Temperatures are likely to hit 35°C in the north and the east, during the day as will night temperatures.

Peaks of 38 °C are also expected in the southeast on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the site of Météo France.