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How the COP21 climate summit impacts Paris

When 150 world leaders come to town, you would expect there to be some knock-on effects. From free public transport to closed roads, here's how Paris is being affected by the two-week conference.

How the COP21 climate summit impacts Paris
Commuters cross an eerily empty Boulevard Malsherbes on Monday morning. Photo: The Franco British Chamber
Paris hasn't exactly ground to a stand-still as some may have expected
 
In fact, it's actually coping quite well, no doubt thanks to the extensive preparations that come when you're hosting heavyweight politicians like US President Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
 
Here is a run down of the changes in the French capital.
 
Public transport
 
Authorities announced that public transport would be free of charge in Paris for Sunday and Monday, in an attempt to persuade motorists to leave their cars at home. 
 
Police even said that people should avoid taking the Metro at all “unless necessary”. 
 
Perhaps thanks to the warning, the Metro was largely empty on Monday morning, so much so that Le Parisien newspaper ran a gallery with over 20 pictures showing half empty carriages on the morning commute.
 
Metro lines will be bolstered in real time to accommodate any potential increase in commuter traffic, noted the city's public transport chiefs RATP. For live updates, see their site here (in French)
 
Paris: Singing Metro driver hangs up the mic
 
Roads closed
 
Several main roads have been closed down and motorists have been urged to take public transport, and it appears to have made a significant difference.
 
At 7.30am on Monday there were just 12 kilometres of tailbacks recorded – compared to the usual 150 kilometres on Mondays at that time. By peak time at 8.30am, there were 21 kilometres of tailbacks compared to the usual 250. 
 
 A police officer stands guard over a closed section of the A1 highway. Photo: AFP

If you really have to drive, be warned that the A1, the A16 and sections of the western périphérique ring road are particularly affected.

The map below gives idea of which roads have been hit by the security measures. A more detailed map and key is available here.

Extra police
 
The conference itself is being patrolled by at least 100 UN security personnel and 300 private security guards. 
 
France, meanwhile, has promised to deploy nearly 11,000 police for the summit, of which 8,000 police and gendarmes are to carry out border checks, with a further 2,800 deployed at the conference venue north of Paris.
 
The police have already been busy, arresting over 300 people on Sunday afternoon when anti-capitalist militants infiltrated a climate protest in central Paris. 
 
Paris police detain 208 at climate change demo
 
'It's great for tourism'
 
Tourism chiefs in Paris insist the conference is a much needed boost for the French capital.
 
“It's the first time since the attacks that Paris will be on TV screens around the world for a positive region,” François Navarro, head of the Paris Region tourist board told The Local.
 
“It's the biggest event ever of this kind and this will be proof that we can hold it.”
 
Navarro said four and five star hotels to the north of Paris, near Le Bourget site and the Charles de Gaulle, are heavily booked up, but visitors shouldn't be put off from coming to Paris over the next two weeks with plenty of accommodation available.
 
Eiffel Tower turns green
 
And lastly, on a more artistic precursor to the talks, the Eiffel Tower was turned green on Sunday as part of an art project that will see “virtual trees” grow on the landmark to support reforestation.
 
While perhaps not as striking as the blue, white, and red light show from after the November 13th terror attacks, the green is still sure to attract some extra attention for the Iron Lady. 
 
Eiffel Tower goes green for Paris climate summit

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CLIMATE

Central and southern Italy brace for storms and heavy snow

Storms and snowfall are forecast across much of central and southern Italy over the next few days, according to weather reports.

Snow is forecast in the hills of much of central and southern Italy.
Snow is forecast in the hills of much of central and southern Italy. Photo: Miguel MEDINA / AFP

Italy’s Civil Protection Department on Monday issued ‘orange’ alerts for bad weather along Campania’s Tyrrhenian coastline and the western part of Calabria, while Sicily, Basilicata, Lazio, Molise, Umbria, Abruzzo, central-western Sardinia, and the remaining areas of Campania and Calabria are under a lower-level ‘yellow’ weather warning.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is warning Italy’s central-southern regions to prepare for a blast of polar air from the Arctic Circle that will bring heavy snowfall, rain and storms, reports national weather forecaster Il Meteo.

The village of Grotte di Castro in the province of Viterbo, two hours’ drive north of Rome, mountainous parts of Sardinia, and much of the province of Campobasso in the central-eastern region of Molise were already blanketed in snow on Monday morning.

The department is responsible for predicting, preventing and managing emergency events across the country, and uses a green, yellow, orange and red graded colour coding system for weather safety reports.

An orange alert signifies a heavy rainfall, landslide and flood risk, while a yellow alert warns of localised heavy and potentially dangerous rainfall.

The current meteorological conditions mean that snow is expected to reach unusually low altitudes of around 450-500 metres, with flakes already falling thickly on parts of the southern-central Apennines mountain range at 500-700 metres altitude.

The hills of Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, Lazio, Sardinia, Campania, Calabria and Basilicata are likely to see heavy snow around the 500m mark, while areas at an altitude of 1000m or higher will see between 50-60 cm of fresh snow.

Affected parts of the country could see 50-60cm of snowfall.

Affected parts of the country could see 50-60cm of snowfall. Photo: Vincenzo PINTO /AFP

In areas where the snow is unlikely to reach, heavy rains and thunderstorms are anticipated, with rain forecast throughout Sardinia, Campania, Calabria and Lazio, reports Il Meteo.

Strong winds are forecast over the whole country, with the island regions of Sicily and Sardinia facing windspeeds of over 100km/hour and the risk of storm surges, according to the national newspaper La Repubblica.

READ ALSO: Climate crisis: The Italian cities worst affected by flooding and heatwaves

The north of the country, meanwhile, will see sun but low temperatures of below 0°C at night in many areas, including across much of the Po Valley.

While conditions are expected to stabilise on Tuesday, cold currents from Northern Europe are forecast to trigger another wave of bad weather on Wednesday and Thursday, with Sardinia and Italy’s western coastline again at risk of storms and heavy rainfall that will move up towards Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Veneto in the north.

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