During the late June heatwave, London's Central line reached 39.4 C, and France reported about 1,000 additional deaths, including children. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that affordable cooling saved roughly 190,000 lives per year from 2019 to 2021.
Heatwave hits Europe hard
By mid-week, Britain and Western Europe experienced extreme temperatures up to 40 C with little breeze. In London, the air was damp and oppressive; in France, pavement shimmered and liquified. People were advised to drink water, avoid going outside, and keep windows shut.
The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) held its annual conference at Olympia London from June 23 to 25, right in the middle of the heatwave. The conference hosted about 4,000 people from more than 75 countries. Despite ample lemonade and water, the air conditioning inside Olympia London worked only modestly. Thousands in dark, heavy suits were humbled by sweat patches on their shirts.
Deadly consequences of rejecting AC
Europe's refusal to embrace air conditioning is not humorous but outright deadly. France's public health agency reported about 1,000 additional deaths during the heat's worst days, including children. The IEA has estimated that affordable access to cooling saved roughly 190,000 lives a year from 2019 to 2021.
In an astonishing act of hypocrisy, the European Commission shut down the air conditioning on the first seven floors of its 13-storey headquarters in Brussels, while leaving it operational on the higher floors where Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior officials work.
Record-breaking temperatures
England may have had its warmest June on record, and Britain endured the second-hottest June since 1884. On the London Underground, temperatures reached 39.4 C on the Central line, 37.2 C on the Jubilee line, 36.4 C on the Bakerloo line, and 33.6 C on the Victoria line.
The well-to-do of Paris and Brussels lecture the world on why AC is evil while failing to ensure people have cool bedrooms. Widespread air conditioning is the mark of a mature and serious civilization, as mundane as it may seem to Canadians who take it for granted.
