Will Paris soon have its feet in the water? If the formula is smiling, the projections of the consequences of global warming on the French capital – where the temperature has already increased by 2.3 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era – are alarming. According to a report from the City of Paris, the risk of a ten-year flood increases by 20% and that of a hundred-year flood by 40%. In the coming years, “the volume of precipitation should increase slightly and the number of rainy days rather decrease, with a tendency to increase the intensity of precipitation and therefore greater risk of flooding”, summarizes the report. town hall in the summary of the report “Paris facing climate change”.
A major flood event in the Paris region “would be likely to destroy or disrupt certain vulnerable infrastructures” and would threaten the quality of the water, “with a risk of pollution for 1.3 million subscribers”, such as the sewerage network, with 20% of wastewater treatment plants located in flood zones. Such a flood “could generate direct losses of the order of 60 million euros” and threaten 430,000 jobs, according to the same source. The costs for insurance “could oscillate between 3 and 30 billion euros”, says the report for which “the whole of the Parisian economic fabric is exposed to the risk of flooding in a direct and indirect way”.
Increase in scorching days
By the second half of the 21st century, the Seine could however see its flow decrease by 10 to 30%, warned Célia Blauel, deputy in charge of the river and resilience, during a press briefing. As a result of the increase in temperatures, the number of scorching days could drop from 13 in 2010 to 34 in 2085, according to the same source. “To refresh Paris, we plan to plant 170,000 trees,” said Christophe Najdovski, EELV deputy in charge of green spaces.
Another avenue developed by the left-wing executive to refresh the capital is the installation of shade houses, like stretched canvases. “Where we could not plant trees quickly, we will work with town planners and architects so that they fit harmoniously into the Parisian landscape”, promised Dan Lert, deputy (EELV) in charge of the transition ecological.