Get ready for another heat wave in Paris

It's not just Paris, of course. It's nearly all of France, with the exception of certain coastal areas and higher-elevation areas. Neighboring countries too.

It's summer. It's what we have to get used to. It was similar last year, and in 2015.

Ah, but 2014. That was nice. My co-workers whined about there "not being summer" but it was very comfortable to me.

Now projecting 108 for Thursday.

We're supposed to go to Chambord on Thursday and I just saw it supposed to be 108! (We're in Normandy and Mont St Michel now and it supposed to be hot and humid. Hopefully my teens won't melt too much.

What will the unprecedented heat waves and worsting climate change do to the wine grapes?

Will extreme heat damage vines and reduce yield? Higher wine prices?

Will high temperatures lower malic acid and fruitiness? Or will grapes be picked early for the right amount of acid but with too low sugar?

Time for grape jam?

Edgar I like your priorities lol

It’s too hot for me - no amount of ice or wet clothes can help me in that heat - I honestly feel sorry for people who have never been and therefore have a long list of things they want to do or see - I’d be hanging out in grocery store cold sections and in my hotel room ( and I always get a hotel with Ac )

We have changed our travel because of this. We were supposed to stay a week in Paris and then head to Switzerland. Instead, we will stay for one night and go to Switzerland earlier and head to the mountains. All day long sightseeing is just not feasible with those temperatures.

Ginger, i think you are very wise. I imagine you are a bit bummed to be missing Paris, but it’s definitely a time to be elsewhere. Maybe I will join you in Switzerland!!

Ginger - Switzerland is having record temperatures too.

Treat this heat wave as a rehersal for the rest of your life :)

I know Switzerland will be hot, but it has advantages. We can go up the mountains to get cooler air, and will not be in a big city with tons of concrete and lots of people. The hotel rooms for our first unexpected week in Luzern were too expensive or did not look good, so we will be staying Weggis, near the lake. Rigi will be in the backyard, so to speak.

One complication-SNCF sent me an email that there might be delays because of the heat for the trip tomorrow. Anyone know what that means? Hoping for the best, since our departure is 7:20 am.

SNCF sent me an email that there might be delays because of the heat for the trip tomorrow.

The steel tracks try to expand because of the extreme heat. The rail operators may run trains at slower speeds in fear of buckled rails. This could disrupt schedules.

Regional lines with old rolling stock and poorly laid or poorly maintained track suffer in the heat: the rails warp, engines overheat, AC systems fail.
However, if you take a TGV (high-speed train), you most likely won't have any issue (well-maintained trains, continuously welded rails). I travelled to S-E France in the worst of the previous heatwave in late June and the trains were on time.

I'm glad we were in Paris late October when it was just a chilly 85 degrees! ;-) (Just kidding, it was average for that time of year.)

Our grandson is living in Loches and he told us yesterday of the heat wave. He said it's been brutal.

This and this should give you some idea of how bad it is.

My husband spent an unplanned overnight on the way back to Paris from turin during a heatwave two or three years ago — they ended up stuck somewhere south of Lyon and arrived back into Paris not at 11:30 pm but the next morning at 5:30 !! It was not a fun night, he said.

I have a friend on a TGV this afternoon whose train is held before Bordeaux due to fires somewhere.

As a long time railway employee - now retired - I know from experience that extreme heat can buckle even high speed line continious welded rail.

And I have seen the consequences when a train went off the rails because of that.

When heat related speed restrictions are placed on trains it is for the safety of the passengers.

Techs will be monitoring rail-head temperatures in critical areas and when they exceed the pre-established limits they invoke the restrictions in that area.

Same in the winter during extreme freezes and ice.

OK, they say, why no problems in Montreal or Texas?

The tracks are designed based on normals for the area they are installed in. Even those areas can experience extreme weather and have limits imposed.

Same reason that concrete roads have bigger gaps in very hot climates.

Indeed. I myself have now been blocked in Bordeaux for 90 minutes . . . SNCF has up their information about the effect of the heat on the rails — and apparently there is or was a fire on the tracks further south of us — and it’s currently 104 degrees in Bordeaux so I can’t imagine when they will be able to certify the rails as safely passable, even once they have succeeded in putting out the fire )which maybe is already accomplished, i don’t know). My friend who took the earlier train is now closing in on 5 hours blocked here.

Hi, I am in Paris now with temps topping 100 degrees-- but it is a really dry heat. It really isn't bad at all! Nothing to complain about! It's smart to be smart -- I spent much of the day in air conditioned museums -- but we still walked everywhere on the shady side of the streets. Thursday will be the whopper, but as long as it's not humid, and folks stay hydrated, it should be bearable. Don't worry!

Is it Saturday yet?

'Should I choose a hotel with a/c?', can be permanently retired as a topic, I would think

purchase, Where do you live?
I live very near SF, above 85 in Paris does me in. I think it’s all relative to what you’re used to.

I’ve been in Paris many times when it was in the 90s and 100s. In 2003, with 103 for a week, 12,000+ Parisians died. It was brutal.

Kim, here’s hoping when you read this on your Wednesday your train journey has ended and you are home!

We love spring vacation and our trip to Italy was fantastic two years ago.
but fingers crossed for our Paris trip in August

Well, the New York Times put it better than I can:

Never in recorded history has Paris been hotter than it was on Thursday.

And there you have it.

And thanks Pam — I was so dazed on Wednesday after my four-hour journey turned into nine hours that I didn’t even have the energy to browse the Forum!!!

When I opened up the website of Le Figaro at one point yesterday (Wed), the very top story was an article that the SNCF urged all travelers with tickets for Thursday to defer their travel. Countrywide, systemwide. No change fees, full refunds, the works. I have never seen such a broad-based call such as that.

I was just reading now that Thalys stopped selling tickets for today and tomorrow and also are urging people not to travel.

It’s not a pretty scene!!!!

Just got in Paris back from western Brittany. Train was on time, but the contrast is brutal! And here I am sleepless in a 30C+ apartment. Only a few hours to go thankfully.

I was thinking about our fourth or fifth floor apartment rental in Le Marais a couple of years ago in May. It would be impossible to sleep there in these conditions. I'd like to see the finish of the Tour de France but no way will I risk an un-air conditioned room in late July.

Could you imagine being a rider in Le Tour? I know not many years ago that most of the hotels they stayed at did not have air conditioning. Not sure about today. Many riders complained about being unable to sleep well, if at all.

Ideal sleeping temperature is about 67F.