Energy & Environment

I Survived Europe's Heat Wave Without AC—No Thanks to Regulation

European countries are stubbornly refusing to adapt to warming weather, with deadly results.

Matthew Petti | 6.29.2026 10:09 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

It was my luck that I arrived in Britain to pick up my master's degree just before a heat wave hit. The temperatures last week were reaching 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day.

That wouldn't normally be a problem. I was used to even higher temperatures growing up in New Jersey, working in D.C., and studying abroad in Jordan. But now I was without air conditioning. Every night was sweaty and sleepless, and every day was sluggish.

And I wasn't suffering alone. Around 90 percent of homes in the United Kingdom don't have AC. Europe's mainland is not much better: Around 80 percent of homes in the European Union lack air conditioning too. While the heat waves are unpleasant for the young and healthy, they are literally unliveable for the old and sick. Britain recorded 3,000 heat-related deaths during a 2022 heat wave, and the U.N. World Health Organization estimates that 200,000 people have died from heat-related illness across the European Union over the past four years.

The continent was historically a lot colder, which helps explain why air conditioning was not so popular. American summer temperatures used to be a........

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