Behind the Town Hall, a converted truck trailer. Inside ? A one-way ticket to the possible (and scary) climatic future of the capital: Paris under 50°C. This is the experience offered by the Human Adaptation Institute in the middle of the autumn gray. And above all, in the middle of the Paris Council where the 2024-2030 climate plan is being debated.
“The goal is to feel this heat in your flesh,” briefs Dan Lert, deputy in charge of ecological transition, climate plan, water and energy. A heat peak of 50°C could happen in Paris by the middle of the century. We must do everything to avoid this deadline, but also prepare for it. »
Spare t-shirt, sweat and hot water
The ecologist emphasizes the “400 concrete measures” of the climate plan, at the time of sending a first batch of journalists into the furnace. “I’ll try it a little later,” says the chosen one. We line up behind the tactic of the elected official by delaying, just to collect the reaction of the first guinea pig colleagues at the exit.
“We offer physical activity with treadmills, a sensory space where we touch everyday objects (watch, glasses), and a cognitive workshop with several exercises to perform,” lists Jérémy Roumian, general director of the Human Adaptation Institute.
A colleague comes out after about fifteen minutes. “You feel the heat all of a sudden, even when you remove several layers of clothing. Even walking, it gets intense, you can't do it for fifteen minutes straight. » The only downside according to her is the short duration of the experience. We will be able to judge for ourselves.
After signing a waiver, it is time to enter the oven, not without passing through Véronique's airlock, responsible for watching over us from her control screens.
A grueling experience
We take a big breath of heat when we open the door, all the while feeling that the spare t-shirt in our bag won't be too much. The heat is dry (20 to 22% humidity in the truck). After the rather painful entrance, the first minutes prove bearable.
“I expected worse. Not being exposed to the sun helps,” whispers a colleague while exercising on a treadmill. The exercise bike does not find a buyer.
“I know that the test lasts thirty minutes maximum, so I manage myself,” specifies a town hall agent. Courageous but not reckless, we abandon the exercise machines to go and test the workshop dedicated to everyday objects. Result: the bracelet of the exposed watch is hot.
The sweaty Tuesday decided to wait about fifteen minutes to make its appearance, noticed. Perspiration appears on our t-shirt and quite abundantly on the forehead.
What could be more immersive than a drying throat and hot water as the only drink? Without bothering to look at the logic tests, it is time to end the experiment, after a little over twenty minutes. The fresh air and the rain at the exit have never made us so happy.
Prepare for increasingly sultry summers
Last year, at the same time, the City had already organized a full-scale simulation exercise of this extreme heat scenario. “Parisian operators told me that there could be technical problems in this heat. But we often forget the people, who must be able to work, recalls Pénélope Komites, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of resilience and foresight. We will have to think about how our bodies adapt. »
Faced with these challenges, the protection of vulnerable people is one of the priorities set by Paris. “Elderly people, chronically ill people, precarious people, that is to say those who do not go on vacation, live near polluted roads, live in poorly insulated homes,” targets Dan Lert.
Before citing one of the measures of the future climate plan: the renovation of all schools and nurseries by 2050. To fight against the scorching summers to come.
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