This is Viewpoints Explained…
Earlier this Summer, a lingering heatwave hit parts of France, Spain, Italy and the UK. in some areas, temperatures climbed past a hundred and four degrees.
in the U.S., we’ve seen these high temps but they often come with a basic assumption: at some point, people can always head inside, turn on the a-c and cool off. But in much of Europe, that’s not the case. the international energy agency estimates that only about 25 percent of structures across the continent have air conditioning. Many homes, older schools and public buildings were built for a cooler climate and don’t have central AC.
In recent years, heatwaves in Europe are becoming increasingly common and many towns aren’t prepared. A top floor apartment or old building with poor ventilation can quickly turn into a sweltering oven. And when temperatures stay high overnight, the human body has less time to recover. The risk is highest for seniors, young babies, outdoor workers and people with heart or breathing problems. The European branch of the world health organization said in June that extreme heat has led to more than two hundred thousand deaths across the continent over the last four years. Most of those deaths, the agency says, were preventable.
And the answer isn’t just adding air conditioning everywhere. Cooling will matter, especially for people most at risk, but cities also need more shade, more trees, cooling centers, reflective roofs, better ventilation and stricter building rules for older homes. Because as climate change pushes Europe into hotter summers, this will become less of a one-off and more of the norm.
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