How I survived the record Paris heatwave while seven months pregnant

In the summer of 2019, I had an idea for a story. Paris was going to have its hottest day ever, and I wanted to test different ways to cool down in the city to see if they worked. But it wasn't fun, and the cooling methods didn't help.

Last week, Paris experienced its worst period of extreme heat on record, even worse than in 2019 and 2003, when a long heatwave caused almost 15,000 deaths. I now live in Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest areas in France and one that is most affected by extreme heat. To make things more difficult, I am seven months pregnant. So, how was my week?

When I found out I was pregnant, my biggest worry was giving birth in the summer. Many French hospitals don't have air conditioning and aren't built to handle heatwaves. I was supposed to go to a meeting about the extreme heat plan today, but it was cancelled because of the heat.

A friend who is a few weeks ahead of me in pregnancy has checked into an air-conditioned hotel with her husband because the heat in their apartment was causing her to have contractions. They said the hotel is full of other pregnant women, but this is not a price most people can afford. For pregnant people in Paris, the main goal is to avoid giving birth this week if possible. I rented a portable air conditioner, hoping it will help me get through to the weekend when the heat is expected to decrease.

Today, I had a meeting at the public healthcare office. It was already 30C (86F) at 9:30 am. People were made to queue outside in the hot sun, but I was allowed in straight away because of my condition. While I was filling out forms, a woman fainted in the waiting room, possibly from heatstroke. A staff member called for water as people rushed to help her.

A friend who is away offered me her desk in an air-conditioned office, which was a huge help. At a nearby childcare centre, staff had covered the windows with blankets and were spraying the toddlers in the courtyard with water. Under a shaded area, a man had set up his belongings and a mattress, trying to sleep through the hottest part of the day.

The magazine office where I would be working was in a stylish converted factory. In Paris, even during a heatwave, it often feels like fashion week. The staff looked shocked as I slowly made my way towards a sign that said CASTING CALL, while very thin models walked past me.

When I got home, my rented air conditioner was delayed. It arrived just after midnight, and I was too tired to set it up properly before falling asleep.

The air conditioner didn't work well. I was letting in too much heat when I opened the window to put the exhaust pipe out. This cancelled out any cooling effect. When my partner came home from work, he fixed the window kit so the air conditioner could work properly, and the temperature finally started to drop a few degrees. I could finally work again.

On social media, everyone was talking about the heat. A new father in Bordeaux shared a video from a maternity ward where the temperature inside was 36 degrees and a healthcare worker had fainted from heatstroke. There were 25 heart attacks in Paris in 24 hours.

I spent the morning inside with the shutters closed, and then went back to the magazine office for the afternoon. People in the park across the street sat without moving in the shade. It was 38C (100F) and there was no wind, but the water from the fountain offered only temporary relief.

I was getting angry seeing photos of people jumping into canals for fun. When I see this extreme week represented in the media, I want to see images of the homeless woman, also seven months pregnant, living on the streets. I want to see the children sent home from school because their classrooms were too hot, and the hospitals unable to care for patients. This is what the climate crisis really looks like.

Emergency services reported 109 deaths in Paris in 24 hours, which is usually only seven at this time of year. In the west of the city, a bus driver fainted from the heat and crashed his bus into a tree.

My body was exhausted. I woke up aching all over with cramping legs.

In the early afternoon, I tried to stay cool in my local park with my dog, who seemed to be the most resilient of us. We stayed in the shade as much as possible. My new neighbourhood doesn't have public buildings with air conditioning that vulnerable people can use, unlike central Paris.

Instead, I found relief at the cinema (movie: 3/10, air conditioning: 10/10).

By the end of the week, health authorities announced 1,000 more deaths in France over a three-day period compared to normal. The number of toddlers who died in hot cars reached four. Deaths from drowning reached 74.

When I last wrote about this in 2019, I felt a constant anxiety about global heating. But now, I feel pure anger.

The oil company TotalEnergies made a profit of €5.8bn (£5bn) in the first three months of 2026. Meanwhile, groups are encouraging the EU to lower its climate goals to build more data centres. The city has introduced some measures to cope, but it still feels like we are being left to deal with this by ourselves by the people in charge. And even though I am pregnant, I am still one of the fortunate ones.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thursday, We cannot adapt to a heatwave that has no equal in Europe today and has never had an equal in our history. Forecasters are predicting another wave of extreme heat for next week, so his warning may become a reality soon.