France Deploys Postal Workers to Check on Elders as Heat Drives Homes to 36C
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 3
France Deploys Postal Workers to Check on Elders as Heat Drives Homes to 36C
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 3
Summary
France has told postal workers nationwide to check on older residents during a brutal heat wave, expanding their role beyond mail delivery under an emergency policy introduced in June.
36C temperatures inside some unairconditioned apartments have left vulnerable people at risk of heat stroke, with workers offering practical cooling advice during home visits.
In Aix-les-Bains, postal worker Harmony Simon visited 68-year-old Martine Combe, who has diabetes and asthma, and suggested using survival blankets on windows to cut indoor heat by 4 degrees.
The checks follow a heat wave that broke several records in France, underscoring how extreme temperatures are straining elderly residents living alone.