Europe continues to rely on alternatives to air conditioning even as deadly heat waves claim lives across the continent. Officials argue that expanding air conditioning is not a long-term solution.
France’s record-breaking heat last week has been linked to about 1,000 deaths, most involving elderly people.
According to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Europe has recorded more than 1,300 excess heat-related deaths since June 21.
Despite experiencing fewer hot days than many other regions, it also records the highest number of heat-related deaths per capita.
A 2007 study found that air conditioning can reduce heat-related deaths by 75%. Even so, only about 20% of European homes have air conditioning, compared with roughly 90% of homes in the United States.
Rather than expanding air conditioning, many European officials have focused on alternative strategies, including public cooling stations and other measures designed to reduce heat in densely populated historic cities.
Ine Vandecasteele, an urban adaptation expert with the European Environment Agency, said widespread air conditioning is not the preferred solution.
“My honest response is I don’t think that should be the solution anywhere,” Vandecasteele told CBS News.
“It is an immediate response, which can support essentially those who may be vulnerable in hospitals, or in very short term can help. But in the longer term, what happens is, installing more air conditioning actually emits more heat into our environment, so it will actually increase the speed of warming.”
Higher energy costs have also discouraged broader adoption of air conditioning across much of Europe.
Italy has taken a different approach than many of its European neighbors.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, about 56% of Italian homes had air conditioning as of 2024.
European Union data also show Italy accounts for roughly one-third of the bloc’s electricity consumption for air conditioning.
Italian officials have also distributed wearable devices in Rome to monitor elderly residents, who face the greatest risk during periods of extreme heat.
Public attitudes toward air conditioning also differ from those in the United States. A recent survey in France found that one in six respondents said they would rather endure the heat than increase air conditioning use for environmental reasons.
Vandecasteele said she was not surprised by those findings. “We’re not doing this for us,” she said. “We’re doing this for the future generations.”