Europe Is Hot as Hell. Why Doesn’t It Want Air Conditioning?
7/7/202619 min
As Europe experiences record-breaking heat waves this summer, many residents are reconsidering the continent’s long resistance to air conditioning. Europe’s summer high temperatures often cause tens of thousands of people to die from heat-related causes. WSJ’s Matthew Dalton reports that the battle over air conditioning is shaping political debates. Ryan Knutson hosts.
Further Listening:
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRyan Knutson· Host0:00
[upbeat music] This summer, Europe has been really hot, hotter than usual.
Speaker 20:10
From Paris to Madrid to London, locals and tourists are scrambling to stay cool.
Speaker 3· Soundbite0:15
There are soaring temperatures with heath- heat alerts and public health measures in place in many countries. The, um, severe heat wave continues to batter us here in France, with temperatures hovering once again across much of the country at around forty degrees Celsius.
Ryan Knutson· Host0:30
Europe has reached a boiling point, perhaps.
Matthew Dalton0:34
Yeah. It's reached a sweating point, definitely. [laughs] [laughs] Everyone is sweating.
Ryan Knutson· Host0:40
Our colleague Matthew Dalton has been covering the heat wave from Paris, where he lives. What's the weather been like there in Paris?
Matthew Dalton0:47
It's been exceptionally hot. It's been hotter than I've ever experienced since I've moved to Europe nearly two decades ago. I think a lot of people are suffering. It's just kinda miserable.
Ryan Knutson· Host0:59
Temperatures in Paris recently hit about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. That's only happened on three other days since they began keeping records. The weather's, like, normally awkward small talk, but here it's actually relevant.
Matthew Dalton1:14
[laughs] Yeah, it's like, "How's the weather?" That's the big news these days.
Ryan Knutson· Host1:18
One reason this is such big news in Europe is because the continent doesn't have nearly as much air-conditioning as the U.S.
Matthew Dalton1:26
It depends where you are on the continent. In Southern Europe, there tends to