Air conditioning chaos in France amid the heatwave - and our global warming responsibility

From toilet paper to fans and air conditioning

A few years ago it was toilet paper; now it’s fans and air conditioning units. Do I think this second bout of "madness" is more understandable than the first? Absolutely. But I’m hardly impartial: I can’t stand this heat that turns us into irritable, sticky monsters.

France: supermarket chaos during a heatwave promotion

What stands out is how fine the line is between a person and a creature simply trying to get through the day. In France, a discount on air conditioning triggered queues and disorder at a supermarket. Not even the shop door survived to tell the tale.

Heatwave deaths and global warming responsibility

It feels reckless, I know. Yet it’s just as unsettling to remember that, in a single week, more than a thousand people died in that country because of the heatwave. Extreme events will always bring out extreme behaviour. That’s why it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start treating global warming as something we’re responsible for - because blame doesn’t stay single for long.