Paris may be hit by a heat wave during the Olympics whether the Olympic Village will install air conditioners is heated again

The 33rd Summer Olympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the "Paris Olympics") will be held in Paris, the capital of France, from July 26 to August 11. Recently, the old news that air conditioning will not be installed in the Olympic Village of the Paris Olympics has once again caused heated discussion on the Internet.

Although it is too early to predict the weather in Paris during the Olympics, historically, temperatures in Paris will exceed 35 degrees Celsius for at least 7 to 10 days every year from the end of July to August. In the past five years, Paris has experienced high summer temperatures. In July 2019, the French Meteorological Center measured a record high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius in Paris.

A recent study stated that during the 2024 Olympics, Paris may be hit by a heatwave that lasts for several weeks, and the probability of breaking the historical temperature record again is not low.

All for environmental protection: Paris Olympic Organizing Committee will not install air conditioners in the Olympic Village

As early as two years ago, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee made a promise to the world: this Olympic Games will be the greenest, low-carbon and environmentally friendly Olympic Games in history, and the carbon emissions of this Olympic Games will be compared to those of the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. More than half. To achieve this goal, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee announced a sustainable development plan, an important part of which is to build an Olympic village without air conditioning. The Olympic Village for the Paris Olympics took seven years to build and cost about US$2 billion. It is expected that 10500 Olympic athletes and 4400 Paralympic athletes will stay in the Olympic Village this summer.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo once said that she hopes to use the opportunity of the Olympics to accelerate Paris 'green transformation and make the Paris Olympics a model from an environmental perspective. When asked how athletes could escape the scorching heat, Hidalgo said that delegations from various countries would experience the "natural cooling" method.

The so-called "natural cooling" means the use of natural resources and underground cooling systems, like the Louvre Museum, to reduce the impact of extremely hot weather. According to the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, the water cooling system in the Olympic Village will draw water from the Seine River to cool the air, which will then be circulated through pipes to reduce the overall temperature of the building. The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee claims that due to the use of low-carbon wood, concrete structures and renewable geothermal heating systems, the Olympic Village will have only about half the carbon emissions of traditional buildings.

"Although the outdoor temperature reaches 41 ° C, the temperature in most of our rooms is only 28 ° C." Laurent Michaud, director of the Paris Olympic Village, gave an example in a speech last February. He pointed out that air conditioning is only needed during extreme heat waves, and if the interior is not cool enough, organizers will provide athletes with alternate solutions, such as fans.

In previous interviews, French President Macron also recognized the environmental protection system used in the Olympic Village."This is a model for the future city. Here we see that the buildings to be built in 2040 can withstand the climatic conditions of 2050 and can fully Combat all kinds of hot and cold weather."

Athletes don't buy it: delegations from many countries may bring their own air conditioners to stay in

Although the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee tried its best to persuade athletes to consider environmental protection, participating athletes were not buying it-delegations from many countries are planning to use portable air conditioners in at least some athletes 'rooms. Many athletes believe that the cooling system in the Olympic Village is not enough to achieve the ideal room temperature. So far, officials and athletes from delegations from many countries have indicated that they will bring their own air conditioners to the Olympic Village.

Although the move contradicts the International Olympic Committee's sustainability proposition, delegations from the United States, Britain, Denmark and Italy are all considering implementing air-conditioning plans. Due to the relatively low cost of portable air conditioners (between 400 and 500 euros, approximately between 3100 yuan and 3900 yuan) and the ease of transportation and installation, other countries may follow this approach.

Anna Mills, head of the Australia delegation, said in an interview with the media that the Australia Olympic Committee decided to install air conditioning in all athletes 'rooms. This is a "strategy to improve athletes' performance" and help athletes sleep. The Australia delegation has publicly expressed its willingness to spend more than 100,000 Australian dollars (about 470,000 yuan) on purchasing air conditioners and fans for athletes. Matt Carroll, head of the country's Olympic Committee, said,"I appreciate the idea of (Paris) not using air conditioning due to its carbon footprint," but the Olympic competition will be a high-intensity sport and "we are not going on a picnic." Since many events are held at night, athletes must sleep during the day, but the day is the hottest time.

The Greek Olympic delegation has also said it will be equipped with portable air conditioners during the Paris Olympics. The president of the Greek Olympic Committee claimed that it would "do whatever it takes" for the sake of athletes and planned to buy air conditioners or find sponsors to meet its air-conditioning needs.

Yangcheng Evening News reporter Lu Hang