Thousands die in heat wave as air conditioning becomes a political battlefield in Europe

By Christopher Cann

First there’s the hum and then the cool air.

It’s something most Americans enjoy without a moment’s thought: air conditioning. In the suburbs and across major cities, the buzzing machines are everywhere.

A woman cools off in a public fountain near the Place du Trocadero during high temperatures amid a heatwave in Paris.

But in Europe, air conditioning has proven divisive after another record-smashing heat wave. To some, air conditioning is a lifesaving innovation needed in more homes. To others, it’s a blight that is worsening a global climate crisis.

Over the past century, air conditioning became a staple in most Americans’ homes. In Europe, summers tended to be mild and the technology wasn’t necessary. Ninety- to 100-degree days were uncommon.

But that has changed in recent decades as Europe has become the fastest-warming continent on the planet. Heat has killed 200,000 in Europe in just four years, according to the World Health Organization, which described the deaths as largely “preventable.”

Research shows air conditioning is the single most effective way to prevent heat-related deaths, especially for vulnerable populations like the elderly and children.

But it does have drawbacks. The technology can raise greenhouse gas emissions and has been shown to increase temperatures in cities where it’s widely used. Left-leaning officials across Europe have cited the inefficiency of AC units and argued for a more holistic approach to address the problem, including more cooling centers and flexible work hours.

Air conditioning has become a political fight in France
Positions on air conditioning often reflect political views, starkly so in France. The debate has become more urgent in recent years as heat waves have intensified, coinciding with a surge in AC sales across Europe and a growing push to more widely adopt the technology.

People enjoy the water sprayed by a police water cannon at the Brandenburg Gate during the ongoing heatwave in Berlin, Germany.

“It is absurd to have people die because of the heat,” far-right French leader Marine Le Pen told reporters in June. “If I am elected president, I will put into place a massive air conditioning plan.”

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said “individual air conditioning is a scourge” and called for “flexibility” and solutions like better insulation to deal with high temperatures. His deputy mayor, Audrey Pulvar, issued a statement in response to American journalists and social media personalities in which she called out the United States for its widespread use of AC.

“As the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, you bear a significant amount of responsibility for global warming and the consequences we, in France, are experiencing,” Pulvar said. “Your cities ‘90% air-conditioned’ are not unrelated to this. In Paris, we take responsibility.”

Heat is a growing emergency in Europe
Average temperatures have climbed by about 1 degree a year in Europe, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service.

The trend only seems to be getting worse. The latest heat wave in June saw temperatures hit 108 degrees in France and 113 degrees in Spain. All-time records over 100 degrees were reached in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

In France, more than 1,000 excess deaths were recorded during the heat spell, according to the country’s national public health agency. More than 70 people drowned as they took to rivers and other waterways for relief, said France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez.

People swim in the Canal Saint-Martin after public swimming was permitted in certain areas due to high temperatures amid a heatwave in Paris.

Across the continent, schools closed, concerts were canceled, train lines were suspended and wildfires raged. People sealed their apartment windows and stood in long lines for fans and portable AC units. Temperatures remained high through the night, providing little relief.

“No, I’m not sleeping well, but I don’t think I’m the only one. … It’s just horrible,” Parisian Severine Le Beuzit told Reuters, describing the conditions as “hell on Earth.”

AC saves lives. Are there environmental downsides?
Studies have shown air conditioning can reduce the risk of heat-related deaths by up to 75%. The technology is estimated to have saved an average of 190,000 lives a year from 2019 to 2021 as temperatures soared, according to the International Energy Agency.

Far-left French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, when asked recently about increasing AC use across the country, said: “We mustn’t do it. Installing air conditioning everywhere means causing more harm.”

The energy supply needed for air conditioning generates about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, about twice as much as the entire aviation industry, according to a study in 2022.

Increased AC can also make cities hotter, because the units pump warm air outdoors. Several studies have shown that systematic use of air conditioning in a densely populated area can raise temperatures by several degrees.

Despite resistance, AC is becoming more popular in Europe
Though Europe has been slower to implement air conditioning than other parts of the world, the continent has seen a rise in AC use, especially in the south.

In Italy, more than half of all households use air conditioning, according to the National Institute of Statistics. EU data shows AC accounts for one-third of all electricity use in the country. In Spain, about 40% of households stay cool with AC units.

An estimated 4 million homes in the United Kingdom have air conditioning, double the figure from three years ago, according to The Guardian. And in Germany, surveys show AC use has jumped 6% from 2023 to 2024.

The shift has coincided with government officials appearing more open to widespread use of air conditioning.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said schools, offices and hospitals should be fitted with the technology so the city is “ready for the new norm, which is more extreme heat waves.”

Marine Tondelier, head of France’s Green Party, acknowledged she was “breaking a taboo” when she said air conditioning is a necessity to save the lives of vulnerable people.

“There are places where we just can’t do without it now,” she said.

A mixed approach to address a ‘systematic crisis’
Though individual air conditioning units can be highly effective in preventing heat-related deaths, it should not be the only tool to fight scorching heat waves, experts said.

Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said in early June that cities should plant more trees to add shade and create a network of cooling centers available to the public. He added that social services should prioritize vulnerable populations, including the elderly, and help educate people on the signs of heat-related illness.

Other methods to reduce the harm from sweltering temperatures include more breaks and flexible shifts so workers can avoid the midday sun, according to WHO. Increasing staff at medical facilities during heat waves also could prevent unnecessary deaths.

“Individual action, such as keeping out of the heat, keeping our homes cool and keeping our bodies hydrated, can make a big difference in protecting us, but it is not enough to fight a systemic crisis,” Kluge said. “We need a coordinated, powerful and institutional response.”
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Credit: USA Today