Why European homes vulnerable to extreme heatwaves?

A powerful early summer heatwave is sweeping north from the Iberian Peninsula, forcing school closures in France and the Netherlands and triggering health alerts.

The Mediterranean Sea, particularly Spain’s Balearic Sea, has hit record temperatures up to 30°C — 6°C above average — due to a heat dome trapping warm air.

Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, is now experiencing extreme heatwaves earlier and more frequently, with some areas of France reaching 40–41°C and many countries recording their hottest June day ever.

Climate experts attribute the rising temperatures to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial activity. The DW has recalled that the summer of 2022 saw around 61,000 heat-related deaths in Europe, mostly among the elderly. Urban areas suffer most due to the heat island effect, where concrete and asphalt amplify daytime heat by up to 3.9°C.

Air conditioning remains uncommon in European households, leaving many people to endure the sweltering heat using electric fans, ice packs, and frequent cold showers as their main form of relief. Unlike the United States, where high temperatures have long been the norm, an article by CNN has highlighted that Europe has not embraced air conditioning on a large scale.

Nearly 90% of American homes are equipped with AC, compared to just about 20% in Europe, with some countries showing even lower adoption. In the United Kingdom, only about 5% of homes use cooling systems, most of them portable units. In Germany, the figure is closer to 3%.

As climate change drives increasingly intense and longer heatwaves that arrive earlier each year, some are beginning to question why affluent European nations have been so slow to embrace air conditioning, even as the human cost of extreme heat rises.

One major reason is that many European regions, especially in the north, historically experienced only mild summers. Though heatwaves have occurred before, they seldom brought the prolonged, record-breaking temperatures now becoming common.

“In Europe... there just hasn’t been a widespread tradition of air conditioning,” said Brian Motherway, who leads the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the International Energy Agency. “Until recently, it simply wasn’t seen as a major necessity.”

As a result, air conditioning has long been considered a luxury item in Europe, not an essential utility. The cost of installation and operation remains a barrier, particularly since energy prices are often higher in Europe than in the US, while household incomes tend to be lower.

Building design also plays a crucial role. In southern European countries accustomed to heat, architecture helps mitigate it — thick walls, narrow windows, and layouts that encourage air circulation all work to naturally cool interiors, reducing the need for mechanical cooling.

In contrast, many homes in northern and central Europe were never designed to withstand high heat. “We just haven’t developed the habit of thinking about cooling as a priority for summer living,” Motherway noted. “It’s only become a more pressing concern in recent years.”

Much of Europe’s housing stock predates modern cooling technologies. In the UK, which recently saw its hottest June on record, roughly one in six homes was built before 1900. These older buildings are particularly difficult to retrofit with central air systems.

Retrofitting is further complicated by outdated layouts, thick masonry, or preservation requirements that restrict structural modifications.

There’s also a broader environmental consideration. The European Union has committed to becoming “climate neutral” by 2050, and a surge in energy-hungry air conditioners would make reaching those climate goals significantly more difficult.

While air conditioning offers relief, it increases emissions and worsens urban heat. Experts advocating climate-conscious urban design — like shaded narrow streets, green roofs, and reflective surfaces — told the DW that these should be prioritized to cool cities.

Traditional building methods using thick, insulating materials and natural ventilation, such as adobe structures or double roofs, are being reconsidered as sustainable alternatives for adapting to increasingly extreme heat.

By Nazrin Sadigova