The 2024 Paris Olympics famously launched with a rain-soaked opening ceremony that drenched athletes and spectators alike. Now, they’re enduring the opposite experience on Tuesday: a heat wave.
Most of France is under a heat wave warning, with temperatures in Paris and surrounding areas expected to climb to 35 C or higher, the national weather agency said. Air conditioning is far less common in French homes, shops and restaurants than in places like Canada and the United States.
“It’s really hot out there,” German women’s tennis player Angelique Kerber said Tuesday after winning her singles match. “You just try to take your time during the breaks.”
The heat was expected to be even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille that is hosting Olympic competitions like soccer and sailing. It was as hot as 40 C in parts of southern France on Monday and the temperatures were expected to match that high again Tuesday.
Back-to-back record global heat was seen last week as climate change makes extreme weather more frequent and intense.
Paris 2024 organizers have aimed to cut the event’s carbon footprint, with measures like turning to an underfloor cooling system and insulation instead of air conditioning at the Olympic village where athletes are staying. Some countries, like the U.S., brought their own air-conditioning units/
Visitors and athletes endured a sweaty and sunny Tuesday before thunderstorms were expected to sweep into the Paris area in the evening. People dipped into a Paris canal that’s a popular swim spot or fanned themselves at exposed Olympic venues.
Volunteers used hoses to spray down cheering fans at the shadeless beach volleyball stadium near the Eiffel Tower and put up signs about water refilling areas. Spectators ducked under trees for shade, while players on the sunbaked sand — which can be more than 20 C hotter than the air temperature — took extra breaks to drape bags of ice over their heads and shoulders.
“Very hot,” Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy remarked after competing in long sleeves, pants and a hijab. “But not like Egypt.”
Although it looks like Medina is floating in mid-air thanks to Photoshop, this actually happened.
Misters, water bottles
A handful of misters were set up at La Concorde urban park, the venue that’s been hosting skateboarding and BMX freestyle cycling. The Paris area’s train and metro operator said it was distributing more than 2.5 million containers of water at over 70 train stations and other stops on its network, as well as at bus stations.
The equestrian teams were spraying their horses with cool water and keeping them in the shade after riding the course, which doesn’t take long. Riders also said they cut down the warmups from 45 minutes to half an hour ahead of competitions held in the regal gardens of the Palace of Versailles outside Paris.
“It’s really hot, but you have to be professional about it,” British rider Carl Hester said after an event on Tuesday. “Lots of walk breaks so the horses can relax. We’ve got a covered arena, so it keeps the sun off their backs.”
German rider Julia Krajewski, the defending Olympic champion in the category of individual eventing, said that she “would be more worried for the spectators to be honest.”
She said Monday that she wasn’t worried about competing in her thick jacket, helmet and heavy boots because “I personally prefer the heat,” but “you have to be sensitive, know your horse.”
‘Like playing in Florida’
Some other athletes weren’t too concerned either.
U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff said Monday, before the worst of the heat, that she “felt good” after her match and that it was “like playing in Florida.”
“I did use the ice towel, which I rarely do at matches, but it was more of a preventative thing,” the reigning U.S. Open champion said a day before being eliminated in singles competition.
On the other hand, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who beat rival Spain’s Rafael Nadal on Monday, found it “pretty hot on the court,” noting the change from Saturday’s rain. “Paris weather is quite unpredictable,” he said.
Further south, American windsurfer Dominique Stater wore a vest filled with ice packs after her races in Marseille on Monday, where it hit 31 C in the late afternoon.
“It’s pretty crazy heat, more than Miami,” said Stater, who’s from the sweltering Florida metropolis.
Stater said staying hydrated is top of mind, especially because the windsurfers are swathed in extensive protective gear.
That’s the same advice weather officials are passing along to those planning to be outside on Tuesday: hydrate, avoid going out in the afternoon when it’s hottest and wear a hat.
France’s national weather agency described heat waves as “increasingly intense, frequent, early and long-lasting” amid climate change. It said that before 1989, such high temperatures were observed on average once every five years, and since 2000, they repeat every year. It predicts the trend will keep increasing.