Brian Motherway, energy expert: “In Europe… we simply don’t have the tradition of air conditioning…"

Once rare, heatwaves are now becoming recurring events in Europe and they are coming earlier. Like this year, the continent was struck by its most extreme early-season heatwave in late May with temperatures up to 27 degrees above seasonal norms.

Records were shattered across the continent, and the heat was believed responsible for a number of fatalities. Over the past four years, there have been over 200,000 heat-related deaths across Europe and the WHO is warning that the regional death toll from heat could reach 120,000 annually by 2050.

The health organization issued new guidelines this week for European governments to speed up climate adaptation and retool health systems and redesign urban spaces to make cities cooler. One thing most Europeans don’t have at their disposal to beat the heat is air conditioning systems, only around 20% of households have one.

Summer swelter in Europe “is a relatively recent phenomenon”

“In Europe… we simply don’t have the tradition of air conditioning… because up to relatively recently, it hasn’t been a major need,” head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the International Energy Agency Brian Motherway told CNN. “We haven’t been in the habit … of thinking about how we stay cool in the summer. It really is a relatively recent phenomenon.”

Homes in northern Europe are designed to keep heat in. This is because typically in the past summers on the continent were mild, but Europe is now the fastest warming continent in the world.

On the other hand, in southern Europe, where the mercury can rise into the triple digits, while most new homes come with AC installed, older homes are designed to stay cool naturally. Furthermore, living with high temperatures is just part of life and people have been using age-old, proven techniques for keeping cool.

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