The heat wave currently gripping Western Europe is killing people. In France alone, at least 48 people (many of them young) have drowned while trying to escape the heat by swimming, according to the CBC. The intense and dangerous heat is also most likely a symptom of climate change, with elevated water temperatures in nearby oceans driving the jet stream disruption and resultant heat dome that is baking the continent.
Yesterday (June 23), France recorded its hottest day ever (with temps reaching above 111 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of the country), since officials there began tracking daily temperatures nearly 80 years ago. And thermometers in the United Kingdom registered the highest June temperature ever—above 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Those nations, and neighboring countries are issuing red alerts, warning people to limit travel and seek cool shelter if they can. Schools are closing. Train schedules are disrupted. And it’s not cooling down anytime soon.
Chief among the reasons that Europe is ill-equipped to deal with such extreme temperatures is its lack of air conditioning. Such direct climate control is not a feature of many European homes, and many schools and even hospitals lack AC, owing to the mild summers historically experienced in the region. While nearly 90 percent of homes in the United States had air conditioning in 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, only about 5 percent of U.K. homes and 3 percent of German homes have cooling systems.
Read more: “Extreme Heat Will Change You”
In France, which is bearing the brunt of this most recent heat wave and counts only about 25 percent of households with AC, eschewing air conditioning is a key policy point for some on the political left. This week, Marie Tondelier, head of the country’s Ecologists party, was forced to change course on the party’s long-standing opposition to air conditioning. “There are places where we just can't do without it now,” she said, according to the BBC, referring to the need for climate control in hospitals and schools.
Air conditioning has been the bogeyman of France’s Green movement because the technology is seen as a band-aid to climate change’s ravages, rather than a solution that hits at its causes. Not only does running air conditioners tax electrical grids, but cooling units can leak refrigerants, which are greenhouse gases in their own right, and operating cooling systems creates additional heat inputs.
The conflict between easing the effects of climate change and addressing its root causes is an existential one. And Europe will be the epicenter of the debate that pits immediate comfort and safety against thoughtful strategies to combat climate change. It’s the world’s fastest warming continent, with average temperatures rising twice as fast as the global average. And these episodes of extreme heat will only become more frequent as the climate continues to change.
While keeping cool can be a matter of life and death, we must find a way to do so that does not contribute to the underlying causes of the environmental disruptions that got us here in the first place.
According to the U.K.’s Environmental Investigation Agency, coping with the heat in the absence of air conditioning can include: remaining hydrated, keeping windows and curtains closed during daytime hours, opening windows at night, using fans, and refrigerating pillow covers prior to bedtime. As we try to remain cool, with AC or without, it is incumbent upon policy makers in Europe and beyond to advance green energy initiatives, set limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and address the human behaviors and industries driving climate change. Otherwise, unending heat waves could be coming to a town near you. 
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Lead image: erika8213 / Adobe Stock
