A historic heatwave is rolling east across Europe – after more than a week baking France, Belgium and the Netherlands, it is now reaching Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.It has all become wearily familiar. This is my fifth year working as a journalist in France, and I’ve covered a major heatwave in all but one of them.Each year the peak climbs higher – 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit), even 40 – numbers once unthinkable in Paris, a city where, unlike in China or the United States, air conditioners (AC) remain a household rarity.With every heatwave, the same scene plays out across Paris and the rest of France: people scrambling for a fan, an air conditioner, anything that might cool a room enough to let them sleep.For years I reported on that frenzy as the calm one, watching from the comfort of an air-conditioned office. This year, I became one of them. A new job had turned my flat into my office – which, naturally, had no AC.The challenge was getting my hands on one. As in previous years, people rushed to buy as soon as the heatwave was announced. When I went to my local Darty – one of France’s big electronics and appliance chains – on June 19, I found only an empty shelf. Same story at a second branch.
As Europe sizzles amid extreme heat, the hunt for China’s aircon remains elusive
While Europe sweats its way through torturous temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius, China cannot get ACs transported over fast enough.
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