Europeans don’t get scolded enough for their resistance to air conditioning. In terms of accounting for preventable deaths, Greece has 2x more heat-related deaths per capita annually than Mississippi has gun deaths.
By comparison, the worst US state for heat related deaths, Nevada - a literal desert - has >10x fewer deaths per capita than Greece.
I think it's more that air conditioning is (currently) prohibitively expensive. The few people I know that have it spent several thousands of euros on their installations. That's not something most people have lying around.
You'd think the government could subsidize aircon like they did solar for years, and both of those things combined would translate to very pleasant summers spent in energy neutral air conditioned homes.
I think there's a bit of a definitional skew happening here. The data isn't that good around this stuff.
Heat as the primary factor, vs heat related deaths is significant.
Heat is a system stressor. There's plenty of people having heart attacks and dying from weight related issues that probably got pushed over the edge by a hot day in Nevada that are missed in official stats.
Some buildings in Southern Europe have thick as hell walls which isolate from both heat and cold (the North can be really chilly near the Atlantic, and freezing away from the Mediterranean).
I completely agree. Historically AC has not been necessary for the one to two days a year it was needed, but that world is gone now and the situation has changed and the widespread adoption of AC is now necessary.
Its going to be a huge challenge because the buildings are not designed with that in mind, many buildings are hundreds of years old making these sorts of renovations notoriously difficult and expensive, but it has to start because climate change is only going to get worse and worse.
So you are saying temperature has risen enough to warrant an AC now? Due to climate change? I thought climate change was on aggregate ~1C difference but my data is a decade old the last time i looked into it
"Extreme Heat" seems to be 37-40 degrees Celsius which is bafflingly mundane to me as an Australian who grew up in rural New South Wales. We'd pack 30 kids and a teacher into an un-airconditioned classroom with just a ceiling fan and the windows open in that temperature.
I imagine the buildings there just aren't built to support that heat plus the body height of hundreds or thousands of attendees?
I think they have been spreading the paranoia for years as if something abnormal was happening... I am not sure, that first thing. Second: even if the weather keeps shifting (I would say more slightly than what they tell us or continuously "suggest" with headlines in the media), these temperatures are bearable by humans with a few cautions depending on the age group.
I used to go jogging midday in summer in Spain, near Valencia, in the seaside. Almost 40 degrees (sometimes I guess 40 or more). It is hot, true, but if you can resist this kind of impact and you do not expose yourself to the sun in stupid ways (like many hours in a row) nothing bad is going to happen to you.
Humidity makes a big difference in how stressful the temperature is (wet bulb temperature accounts for this somewhat). The age of the attendees and the tendency of the building to heat would also be factors.
Depends, In northern NSW, the heat it humid, in the south / west it's usually dry. It gets hot, like opening a oven door, but it's not a wet humid heat that kills you.
I had 40 Celsius today at around 9pm. Middle of the night now and it’s 34. It’s as cool as it’s going to get before it starts heating up again tomorrow. Where I live there are no laws on max temperature in residential housing so the owner (I’m renting) doesn’t have to do anything about it. Never mind the poorly insulated, black slate roof (I’m on the last floor) or lack of AC (I’d have to foot the bill anyway).
Europeans don’t get scolded enough for their resistance to air conditioning. In terms of accounting for preventable deaths, Greece has 2x more heat-related deaths per capita annually than Mississippi has gun deaths.
By comparison, the worst US state for heat related deaths, Nevada - a literal desert - has >10x fewer deaths per capita than Greece.
I think it's more that air conditioning is (currently) prohibitively expensive. The few people I know that have it spent several thousands of euros on their installations. That's not something most people have lying around.
You'd think the government could subsidize aircon like they did solar for years, and both of those things combined would translate to very pleasant summers spent in energy neutral air conditioned homes.
Agree
Especially as air conditioning are heat pumps.
Would have helped solve the large dependency on natural gas heating for free as a byproduct!
I think there's a bit of a definitional skew happening here. The data isn't that good around this stuff.
Heat as the primary factor, vs heat related deaths is significant.
Heat is a system stressor. There's plenty of people having heart attacks and dying from weight related issues that probably got pushed over the edge by a hot day in Nevada that are missed in official stats.
Some buildings in Southern Europe have thick as hell walls which isolate from both heat and cold (the North can be really chilly near the Atlantic, and freezing away from the Mediterranean).
Had the US not used air conditioning so much we probably wouldn't have this heatwave right now.
Oh but what's the problem, just add more air conditioning! :facepalm:
No, its almost negligible
I completely agree. Historically AC has not been necessary for the one to two days a year it was needed, but that world is gone now and the situation has changed and the widespread adoption of AC is now necessary.
Its going to be a huge challenge because the buildings are not designed with that in mind, many buildings are hundreds of years old making these sorts of renovations notoriously difficult and expensive, but it has to start because climate change is only going to get worse and worse.
So you are saying temperature has risen enough to warrant an AC now? Due to climate change? I thought climate change was on aggregate ~1C difference but my data is a decade old the last time i looked into it
The average temperature across the entire globe averaged over a year does not mean that each day is subject to the exact average added to it.
Global warming intensifies differences in weather patterns. Hotter hots, colder colds, more intense storms, etc.
"Extreme Heat" seems to be 37-40 degrees Celsius which is bafflingly mundane to me as an Australian who grew up in rural New South Wales. We'd pack 30 kids and a teacher into an un-airconditioned classroom with just a ceiling fan and the windows open in that temperature.
I imagine the buildings there just aren't built to support that heat plus the body height of hundreds or thousands of attendees?
Spanish here. Same here.
I think they have been spreading the paranoia for years as if something abnormal was happening... I am not sure, that first thing. Second: even if the weather keeps shifting (I would say more slightly than what they tell us or continuously "suggest" with headlines in the media), these temperatures are bearable by humans with a few cautions depending on the age group.
I used to go jogging midday in summer in Spain, near Valencia, in the seaside. Almost 40 degrees (sometimes I guess 40 or more). It is hot, true, but if you can resist this kind of impact and you do not expose yourself to the sun in stupid ways (like many hours in a row) nothing bad is going to happen to you.
Humidity makes a big difference in how stressful the temperature is (wet bulb temperature accounts for this somewhat). The age of the attendees and the tendency of the building to heat would also be factors.
And that was after running around a semi-arid playground playing 'tips' or touch footy during recess and lunch!
Euro buildings are built to keep heat in. Aus buildings are leaky tents.
That should actually help you also with AC: Keep the cold in, and reduce the electricity costs
We need a humidity comparison to go with temperature.
I grew up in a humid city and summers were unbearable. Now I live in a dry climate and 30°C is pretty comfortable.
How does the humidity in rural New South Wales compare to London?
Depends, In northern NSW, the heat it humid, in the south / west it's usually dry. It gets hot, like opening a oven door, but it's not a wet humid heat that kills you.
40C in the Atlantic Spain with the Foehn effect (weather for today and tomorrow) would make 30C in Australia a joke.
The humidity here it's hell. You feel 35C like ~42C in dry climates.
the British are notoriously sensitive to heat. They'll call 30 Celsius weather a heat wave.
I'm from Portugal and I start losing it at 25. 30 degrees is insane.
Last summer my house got to 39, and I didn't have AC (it was broken). I think I'm still recovering.
I had 40 Celsius today at around 9pm. Middle of the night now and it’s 34. It’s as cool as it’s going to get before it starts heating up again tomorrow. Where I live there are no laws on max temperature in residential housing so the owner (I’m renting) doesn’t have to do anything about it. Never mind the poorly insulated, black slate roof (I’m on the last floor) or lack of AC (I’d have to foot the bill anyway).
That’s normal where I live in the Southeast US from late May to late September. Plus 60-99% humidity, I can see the air in the mornings.
There’s something about 85F/30C and 80%+ humidity that prevents the temp from going much higher for a longer period of time.
Apparently, NOT a theonion article
> Hosted in collaboration with the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance.
Their climate resilience seems low.
> The event will finish with a fire side chat
Is this a prank?
A fire side chat does not mean there will be an actual fire
It's corpo speak for "a more casual discussion"
Reminds me of "dermatology convention in Hawaii": https://youtube.com/shorts/1uRxIe1dXGU
I love a good self reference
So calling for the conference and cancelling it raises awareness of extreme heat? Well played
At first I thought it was just virtue signaling. But no, its the venue.
>Venue: LSE Shaw Library, Houghton St, Old Building, London
https://halls.lse.ac.uk/story/25006031/deal-with-the-uk-weat...
> LSE halls (like most houses in the country) don't have air conditioning, it can be quite suffocating.
I blame LSE. Uni should provide safe and comfortable environment for students.
> At first I thought it was just virtue signaling.
Maybe examine the reflex to dismiss out of hand without evidence?
Uni is just preparing the students for the realities of the real world =[