DoomsdaysCW<p>How <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Paris" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Paris</span></a>'s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SeineRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SeineRiver</span></a> keeps the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Louvre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Louvre</span></a> cool in summer</p><p>Delphine PAYSANT<br>Wed, June 18, 2025 </p><p>"As Paris braces for a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heatwave" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>heatwave</span></a> this weekend, a little-known network of underground pipes will be cooling the Louvre museum and other storied landmarks using water from the Seine river.</p><p>"Since 1991, the river water has been cooling more than 800 buildings via a humble but hard-working system that is still relatively under-utilised worldwide.</p><p>"Paris boasts the largest such urban cooling network in Europe: 110 kilometres (68 miles) of subterranean pipes criss-crossing the City of Light, reducing its need for energy-guzzling air conditioning.</p><p>" 'It's like 'Batman'!' exclaimed a passer-by in the chic and touristy eighth arrondissement or district of Paris, as a manhole cover was removed to reveal a spiral staircase to the cooling network below.</p><p>"The technology is not new: the headquarters of the United Nations in New York has been using water from the East River for cooling since the 1950s.</p><p>"But much planning and construction is necessary and as such, these efficient and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sustainable" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sustainable</span></a> cooling systems remain relatively rare.</p><p>"But in Paris, the network has grown considerably in recent years to confront more intense and frequent <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>heatwaves</span></a>, with the first of the summer forecast this coming weekend.</p><p>"The process works much the same as a district heating network, but in reverse: heat is transferred from the air to chilled water pumped via pipes to buildings around the city.</p><p>"But unlike conventional <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AirConditioning" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AirConditioning</span></a>, it does not blast hot air into the streets, according to Fraicheur de Paris, which manages the Seine cooling network and others in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Barcelona" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Barcelona</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Singapore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Singapore</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Dubai" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Dubai</span></a>.</p><p>"The company, co-owned by the French energy utility Engie, says it also offers significant savings in electricity consumption, chemical use and emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide.</p><p>"Heatwaves could push summer temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) by 2050 in Paris, said Raphaelle Nayral, secretary general of Fraicheur de Paris.</p><p>"The city needs a more sustainable solution than air conditioning units with their associated heat and energy burden, she added."</p><p>Source:<br><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/pariss-seine-river-keeps-louvre-102539210.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">yahoo.com/news/pariss-seine-ri</span><span class="invisible">ver-keeps-louvre-102539210.html</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolarPunkSunday" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SolarPunkSunday</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KeepingCool" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>KeepingCool</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChangeSolutions" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChangeSolutions</span></a></p>