Paris (AFP)

Cattle sheltered and hydrated, concrete laying in the morning: on the strength of their experience of the 2019 heatwave, companies are increasing the measures to minimize the impact of high heat on their activity.

Danger on the rails

SNCF has activated its plan to cope with periods of extreme heat, which provides for reinforced surveillance of equipment and infrastructure. The effect of the heat wave on the steel of the rails or the power cables can disrupt the movement of trains.

For its part, the RATP authorizes its 17,000 bus and tram drivers to wear Bermuda shorts or a skirt - offered in the house cloakroom - from 28 degrees, between May 1 and September 30.

Private Fan Traders

Health recommendations prohibit ventilators if they are used in communities, because of the risk of transmission of Covid-19. As for air conditioners, they are only authorized if they allow to bring in "new" air from outside.

Philippe Hoang does not even dare to draw a draft between the back of his bar-tabac and the rue du Faubourg Montmartre in the center of Paris. "I prefer to avoid any air circulation and I stopped the brewery activity because there are too many dangers with this virus", says the manager of La Pia Hour.

In the passage Choiseul, a covered gallery in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, the absence of drafts and the glass roof heated by the sun make the atmosphere particularly heavy. Little informed about the risks posed by fans, a shopkeeper put a small propeller machine at the ground level of her shop. "I demand the mask to enter and no more than three people at a time, I hope the virus is not circulating too much," she says.

Hot like a nuclear reactor

The heat wave can affect the production of EDF nuclear power plants, sometimes forced to shut down or lower the power of its reactors. The electrician uses river water to cool the reactors before discharging it, but it must not exceed a certain temperature, in order to avoid harmful consequences for aquatic flora and fauna.

In terms of electricity consumption, the RTE network manager is not expecting a record for this heat wave period. Economic activity slows down in August and the effects of the pandemic are still being felt, limiting the increase in consumption.

Cow in the stable and in the mist

In Léo Colas' Mayenne farm, the building is equipped with fans and more drinking troughs have been installed. The 90 dairy cows only leave their buildings at night, and for two years have also had sprayers above their troughs.

"They come more easily to eat, they are relaxed all the time," notes the 25-year-old breeder in organic conversion with his parents. "We have less heat-related problems, if not at all, and we manage to limit the drop in seasonal milk production."

Weaknesses in construction

In the construction sector, the risks do not only relate to the health of the employees, they are also technical: the heat wave is a very bad time to pour concrete, which must not be done by more than 30 ° C.

In high heat, concrete hardens faster and turns out to be less solid: by evaporating too quickly, the water may leave cracks. The solution is to introduce chemical components that delay setting or, if the heat is very strong, to lay the concrete at cooler hours.

Purified water for data centers

Equipment in data centers generates a lot of heat and needs to be cooled.

Scaleway, the online services ("cloud") subsidiary of Iliad / Free, for example designed for one of its four centers a so-called adiabatic cooling system, based on the evaporation of previously purified water. "You evaporate tiny amounts of water, and it produces cold, on the same principle as perspiration", explains Arnaud de Bermingham, president and founder of the company.

© 2020 AFP