The temperature outside of Paris’ Garnier Opera house reached 56 Celsius on urban planning expert Tangui Le Dantec’s thermometer as a third heatwave roasted France this week. There was hardly a tree in sight, and there was no shade.
The Place de l’Opera is one of many so-called “urban heat islands” in the French capital that lack the trees that can shade cities and cool them down, offering a crucial line of defence against the heatwaves that meteorologists warn are becoming more intense due to global warming.