Hot shower

After enduring months of unusually hot weather, a freak “heat spell” momentarily hit France lately. The incident was isolated, though, affecting only perishable foods stored in freezers and refrigerators.

Since supermarket cold storages’ control panels are connected to the internet so their temperatures can be remotely adjusted, hackers were suspected of accessing the system and switching the equipment to hot mode. With temperatures increased to 50 degrees Celsius, tons of food in different supermarkets were spoiled.

Fridges of retailer Intermarché’s 150 stores were heated up to 50 C for six hours overnight, forcing it to discard thawed food to eliminate health risks, CNN reported.

Staff of an Intermarché store in central Paris were seen throwing cartfuls of defrosted frozen foods, including tubs of melted ice cream, into a giant trash container.

Eighty Carrefour supermarkets and 490 Monoprix stores were also affected.

Investigators are trying to determine the people behind the hacking.

Meanwhile, people in the Philippines are anticipating hot weather due to the forecast very strong El Niño affecting most parts of the country until the first half of 2027.

In Natividad, Nueva Ecija, a resident has devised a sustainable cooling system for his house.

“The heat radiating from the roof is intense as you approach the bedroom,” Jim said in Filipino on Kuya Kim Atienza’s report on “24 Oras” on Tuesday, according to GMA News.

To solve the problem, Jim bought a hose, sprinkler and submersible pump worth P1,500, and set up a do-it-yourself roof sprinkler system that he saw in an online video.

The pump was connected to a faucet, and the pumped water was sprinkled on top of the roof. The sprinkled water was not wasted, as it went into a giant bucket and was pumped back to the sprinkler, which was powered through a solar panel.

Weather agency PAGASA’s chief of Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section, Ana Liza Solis, said Jim’s cooling system was effective while helping suppress fire in case one occurred.