Ask people in France about the extreme and deadly heat the continent is going through, and you’ll get some choice phrases.
While “c’est l’enfer sur terre” (it’s hell on earth) captures the intensity, there’s a more common refrain:
“Je n’ai pas de clim.” (I don’t have air conditioning.)
A 2020 ministry-backed report estimates only a quarter of France’s homes have ACs. That’s better than the U.K., where only about 14 per cent of households do, based on data that appeared in the Guardian. As a whole, only 20 per cent of Europe has ACs, the IEA says.
Stark, but it is an improvement from 2003, when it’s estimated tens of thousands of people died from a late-summer heat wave.
But experts say air conditioning can’t solve this crisis alone, and comes with its own challenges, especially in densely populated urban centres.
Iconic ovens
The sea of blue-gray roofs in Paris provide a signature look to its canopy, recognized as intangible cultural heritage, and protected by law from change.
But most of them are made of zinc. Add the fact that they’re often un-insulated, with glass windows and the effect for upper-floor residents during a heat wave is like living in an oven, day and night.
“No, I’m not sleeping well, but I don’t think I’m the only one,” 54-year-old resident Severine Le Beuzit told Reuters this week. “We’re all in this case, it’s just horrible.”
Sleep disruption can cause cognitive issues and the heat can feel like running a “marathon” when you’re supposed to be resting.
But while ACs cool the inside, they push the heat somewhere outside.
“In very dense city spaces, air conditioning … basically transports heat from the buildings to the urban environment and can create an even stronger urban heat island effect,” explains Hans-Martin Füssel, a climate risk expert at the European Environment Agency.
The heat gets trapped in the concrete jungle of cities, making them radiate more heat, adding several degrees which can be even more unbearable during a heat wave.
Power problems
The added concern about air conditioners is that when powered by a grid that runs on fossil fuels, it can exacerbate human-caused global heating — which is intensifying heat waves to begin with.
“What’s happening under climate change is that many of these extreme events are becoming intensified,” Clair Barnes, research associate at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, told Reuters.
“So when we have a heat wave, we’re now seeing temperatures in Europe that are two to four degrees higher than would have been the case without human-caused warming.”
A heat dome covering much of western and central Europe has already killed at least 13 people, including children who drowned while trying to cool off in a river. The lack of air conditioning has forced schools to close and has people searching for ways to stay cool.
Even if that power comes from renewables, relying on air conditioning alone is difficult during heat emergencies. Heat waves can also affect power supply to those air conditioners, affecting the efficiency of fossil fuel and renewable energy.
Consider that nuclear, hydro, wind and solar make up 95 per cent of France’s electricity, according to think-tank Ember Energy. But this Omega-shaped heat dome has led to lower wind speed for turbines and less cool water available for nuclear plants, resulting in reduced power output and higher wholesale electricity prices.
Solutions known, implementation lagging
This heat has killed more than 250 people in the last week, both directly and indirectly, from heatstroke, drowning while seeking relief and, tragically, children being left in cars. It’s also delayed medical help in some cases, such as when MRI scanners were knocked offline by the heat and humidity.
Stéphanie Rist, France’s minister of health, says there are 30 per cent more calls to emergency medical services.
“We know that every heat wave leads to excess mortality. We also know that preventive measures can prevent deaths,” she told reporters in French on Thursday, outside a hospital southwest of Paris.
The U.K. set a new June heat record of 36.1 C in parts of southern England on Wednesday as a heat dome continues to bake much of Western Europe. An estimated 94 million people are enduring temperatures above 35 C.
Füssel, at the European Environment Agency, says progress has been made, at least in understanding the solutions needed.
“It’s not rocket science to come up with solutions, but of course, the implementation can be difficult,” Füssel told CBC News from Copenhagen. He says solutions need to involve greening city spaces, creating designated cool zones, and making sure emergency and health officials schedule their vacations differently during potential periods of extreme heat. And yes, even air conditioning.
“Air conditioning can be a solution if it’s done in the right way,” he said, though warns that renters across Europe don’t necessarily have control over their living spaces.
“The ones who would benefit from it are not always the ones who can take the decision to implement it.”
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