Paris 2024 organizers hoped that their self-cooling Olympic Village Apartments would eliminate the need for air conditioning, allowing them to host the most environmentally friendly Games ever.

Many delegations have decided to take no risks, despite the blazing temperatures in Paris.

France, after a rainy weekend and an opening ceremony that saw a heavy downpour, is currently experiencing a heatwave. The mercury reached mid-30s in Paris on Tuesday.

Air conditioning units are selling like hotcakes in the Olympic Village. Richer nations want to protect their athletes against the heat, while the poorer ones struggle to do the same.

Louis Garrard is an accountant at OCOG (the organising committee of the Games) and he's part of the group that supplies AC units to the Olympic Village delegations. The accountant said that there was a rush of supplies.

He said that at one point, they were all gone. However, our stock is now back. "Asian nations especially ask for AC. They like it to stay fresh, it appears."

The organizers hoped to reduce the carbon footprint by half at the Paris Games using an under-the-athletes' village water cooling system, walls that were insulated and the instruction to close the window blinds during the day.

The purpose of this was to maintain room temperatures under 26 degrees Celsius. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told delegations that they should trust science. Due to the heat and humidity, organizers have said that they've given permission for delegations to rent or buy units.

At a recent press conference, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said: "We think we have found the right balance between the long-term obligation to build a sustainable model neighbourhood and the desire to make it last beyond the Games."

We rented portable AC to athletes who are high performance.

France is a traditionally a country which has avoided air conditioning, much to dismay of the tourists who come to France each summer from America, Latin America, and Asia.

Even some French athletes have turned to air conditioners due to the heat.

Assia touati, a French swimmer said: "We use a portable cooling device." We had no air conditioning in our bedroom, but it was installed anyways because it got too hot.

Not everyone has been so lucky.

We have fans, but they're not enough. Nihed Benhadli, of the Algerian Rowing Team said that it was too hot in the evenings. We have another problem. The mosquitoes are too numerous to leave windows open.

Edison Azcona Velez, a Dominican Republic football player, said that he thought the heat might affect his performance during a match against Uzbekistan played on Tuesday.

We have fans inside the room. We need air conditioning. "I think that it's unfair because athletes are required to perform at the Olympics, but we must deal with it."

Some have simply taken it in stride.

Robert Smyth is a physiotherapist for the Irish Olympic Team. He said, "Prior to this last week, it was typical Irish rain and perfect weather for our athletes."

The last two nights, we had late finishes and I passed out. The majority of guys will be fine.

German athletes continue to follow the green message of their organizers.

Meike Schmelzer of the German Handball Team said, "Team Germany chose to play without AC. We have had no complaints thus far." Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Michel Rose.

(source: Reuters)