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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Whose heatwave is it anyway? Europe blames rising heat on US’ overuse of ACs

The heatwave has somehow turned into another chapter in the long-running cultural rivalry between Europe and America.

I knew that Europe and America were different from each other. But I didn’t have the slightest idea of how deep those differences really were until I came to the UK.

My Indian mind often saw “the West” as one broad cultural space. We rarely think about how different Europeans and Americans can be from one another, or how often they clash over politics, identity, history, and even everyday life.

As I spent more time here, I began noticing some of the stereotypes each side holds about the other. Europeans often describe Americans as loud, overly focused on money, and largely unaware of the world beyond their own borders. Americans, on the other hand, see Europeans as having a superiority complex or as being constantly critical of the United States.

I thought I had seen most of these debates. Then, to my surprise, I found myself watching a new one unfold over something I could never have imagined—a heatwave.

Also read: India’s heatwaves have entered a dangerous new phase. The warning sign comes after sunset

Cross-continental jabs

While Europe is currently the fastest-warming continent on Earth—warming at more than twice the global average—I was surprised by the amount of schadenfreude the heatwave seemed to generate among some Americans.

Noah Smith wrote on X, “Just install the goddamn f****ng AC and save your grandma’s life, Euro friends!” It was sarcastic, provocative, and reflected a sentiment shared by many Americans.

He was not alone. Patrick Collison, the CEO of Stripe, shared a screenshot generated by Claude suggesting that Europe’s “elaborate discourse” around the lack of air conditioning was little more than a way of coping with the uncomfortable reality that America had been right about summer all along. Elon........

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