Preparing for Heat Waves in Paris

In August of 2003, I flew from miserably hot, humid Houston to Paris. To my surprise, it was hotter in Paris than in Houston. But the difference was that (as my mother often says) no one lived in Houston before air-conditioning. Everything in Houston is made to keep people as cool in summer as Norwegians are warm in winter. But in France, and in Europe generally, air-conditioning was, and to some degree still is, considered at best an unnecessary luxury, and at worst actually unhealthy. Very few places are air-conditioned, compared to the U.S.A., and Paris was ill-prepared for the intense 2003 heat wave, which lasted ten days with temperatures of above 100°F (38°C). The result: 70,000 people across Europe died, including from 14,000 to  20,000 in France*. Many of them were old people left alone for the holidays by their families, unaware of the dangers. Sadly, quite a few were found dead in front of open refrigerator doors, having tried to get cool.   In the past few years, the city of Paris has endeavored to prevent these deaths by establishing a summer registry for old people who live alone. In the event of a canicule, or bad heat wave, the authorities will telephone the people listed to make sure they are all right. Above is the brochure I saw at a local shop yesterday.   *One of the many victims was Diana Mitford, third of the famous Mitford sisters. She was a great beauty, an ardent fascist, and friend of, among others, Evelyn Waugh, Duff Cooper and Hitler.