"It has two tiny fans attached to the back. They blow air into the jacket and puff it up like an inflatable vest," she said.
Then she asked whether it would make any difference in the furnace-like heat that has settled over the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
She wanted to buy one for her cousin, who worked as a delivery driver.
That conversation made me realize something. While many people are debating whether to set their air conditioners to 26 or 28 degrees Celsius, others do not have that choice at all.
Researchers working on sustainable development increasingly use the term "cooling poverty" to describe people who cannot afford, or do not have access to, the means needed to protect themselves from extreme heat.
