Paris and Milan Look to Phoenix for Strategies to Combat Deadly Global Heatwaves
Mayors of Phoenix, Milan, and Paris warn in a joint Guardian article that extreme heat is a lethal political crisis, sharing urban strategies that reduced Phoenix heat emergency calls by 20%.
The devastating heatwave that swept across Europe and other global regions, claiming more than 14,000 lives, has once again demonstrated that the climate crisis is not a distant threat but an active reality. In a joint article published in the British newspaper The Guardian, prominent municipal leaders—Mayor of Phoenix Kate Gallego, Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, and Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire—shared their insights on combating extreme heat.
Their message is clear: global warming is not a passing weather anomaly but a lethal challenge requiring comprehensive urban preparation. In an inspiring turn, two of Europe's historic cities, Paris and Milan, are looking to Phoenix, a desert city in Arizona, to learn how to manage soaring temperatures.
The Phoenix Blueprint for Extreme Heat
Phoenix, which established the world's first dedicated municipal Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, treats extreme temperatures as a systemic issue affecting infrastructure, transportation, housing, and public health. The city mandates a 75% shade canopy for new developments in high-pedestrian areas and has applied cool pavement coatings to approximately 300 kilometers of streets.
Furthermore, a municipal ordinance requires landlords to maintain a maximum indoor temperature of 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit), while public cooling centers provide shelter for vulnerable populations. Data indicates these measures are yielding results: during the summer of 2024, the hottest on record for the city, emergency calls related to heat illnesses dropped by 20%.
European Adaptation: Paris and Milan
In Europe, where historic infrastructure was designed for a much cooler climate, the challenge is both engineering and organizational. In Paris, every resident can now reach one of 1,400 municipal cooling sites within a seven-minute walk. In October 2023, the city conducted a large-scale simulation exercise named "Paris at 50 Degrees" to test the readiness of emergency services for extreme temperature spikes.
Milan is advancing its "Open Plazas" project, replacing asphalt and concrete surfaces with green spaces and trees. The Italian city has set an ambitious municipal target to limit local temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius by the year 2050.
A Call for Political Action
Extreme heat claims more than 500,000 lives globally each year, making it the deadliest of all climate hazards. The city leaders concluded their piece in The Guardian with an urgent appeal to national governments to provide municipalities with the necessary authority and budgets to tackle the crisis.
As the municipal leaders warned:
"Heat is a political crisis that requires bold political action."
They emphasized that global cooperation must accelerate to match the rapid pace of climate change itself.
