It's so hot, why don't Europeans install air conditioners?

This year the whole world received an ominous summer.

On July 19, local time, the highest temperature in the UK exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for the first time. It should be known that the previous highest temperature in the UK was 38.7 degrees. C in 2019.

London's Heathrow Airport was the first to record a historic breaking temperature, with a temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius recorded at noon on July 19. Soon after, a temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Even temperature ranges of 39 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius have been recorded in the marshlands of eastern England, from Surrey to South Yorkshire, with at least 34 measuring stations all setting new records.

For the first time, the British people are seeing the extremely high heat warning level in crimson.

These numbers do not seem surprising to us, because in Vietnam in the summer, especially in the central region, almost every year there is an area where the temperature reaches more than 40 degrees Celsius. In big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, on hot sunny days, people sometimes get surface temperatures of up to 59-60 degrees Celsius.

However, going back to the UK, it is a country famous for its frequent showers. People all year round experience mild weather, and to them the need for heating is more important than cooling and they are completely unprepared for such extreme heat.

House fire caused by high temperatures in the UK.

And one consequence of the heat waves is the raging of flames. In the suburb of Wennington, east London, 15 fire engines and about 100 firefighters were dispatched as black smoke rose and homes were destroyed. Two people were hospitalized after a fire broke out in the suburb of Dagenham, east London. Farther north of the town of Milton Keynes, a nursery also caught fire.

Due to the increased risk of fire, local authorities have reminded residents not to grill meat, swim in the wilderness and carefully extinguish any fire hazards.

And extreme temperatures have also affected traffic.

The airport was melted because of the heat.

On the afternoon of July 18, some runways at Luton Airport in the United Kingdom had to be temporarily closed due to damage due to high temperatures. The British Air Force also suspended take-offs and landings of aircraft at its largest base because "the runway may have melted". The railway lines also have problems, with speed limits due to the danger of bending due to overheating.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Britain's rail network could not cope with the extreme heat and would need "years" of upgrades to cope with this type of hotter climate.

Most of London's underground stations are also not air-conditioned, and now they are providing a "sauna"-like experience and of course have also been suspended.

Subways are like saunas in Europe.

Water utilities in southern and eastern England have warned that increased demand has led to reduced water pressure and even supply disruptions in some households.

Additionally, Google Cloud Services and Oracle servers in the UK were down due to cooling issues. Both companies blamed high temperatures for the sudden system shutdown.

Outside the UK, extreme heat is also burning through much of Europe and the whole of North Africa.

Wildfires are raging across Europe.

Wildfires have broken out in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Morocco and Croatia.

Reports say that from July 10 to July 17, the highest temperature in Spain was between 39 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius, and a total of 678 people died from the high temperature. From July 7 to July 18, Portugal had 1,063 deaths due to heat.

The French capital Paris recorded temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius, with the heat being described as "apocalyptic". People seek to stay cool under the trees in parks and around fountains.

Greek authorities have instructed people to evacuate in four areas east of Athens, affected by thick smoke caused by forest fires.

Wildfires in Greece.

Indeed, now, it is very difficult for us to survive a summer without air conditioning.

Walking quickly through the sunny courtyards, everyone wants to quickly enjoy the pleasant cool breeze from the air conditioner. This household appliance seems to have become indispensable for people around the world.

But, not for Europeans.

Europeans have long lived without air conditioning.

According to a 2021 report by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, less than 5% of UK households have air conditioning installed. And about half of the demand for air conditioning installations comes from offices, followed by retail stores and hospitals.

One of the main reasons for this is "low cost performance". Many countries in Europe are located above 40 degrees north latitude, so in the past even in summer, the temperature level rarely exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. In some places, fans were even used up to 2 degrees. week per year. In the south of France, such as Cannes, which is associated with a famous film festival, there are more air-conditioners.

Europeans have never had to think about the summer heat.

And in the UK, the houses here are designed with a mind that doesn't need to think about how to deal with the summer heat. "We are a country that needs heating, not a country that needs cooling," said Tadj Oreszczyn, professor of Energy and Environment at the UCL Energy Institute, University College London.

Therefore, in some older buildings, the hot water pipe running through the hallway may not need insulation, and the hot water from the shower will spread the high temperature throughout the apartment. Of course, this was originally intended to overcome the cold winter. But now, they're exacerbating the threat of heatwaves.

But in recent years, heat waves have swept across Europe, but despite this, the penetration rate of air conditioners remains low. Simply because they require high costs and hassle to install, not to mention expensive electricity.

Buildings in Europe do not allow the installation of air conditioners everywhere, everywhere.

According to a user in France, installing air conditioners here is quite expensive and troublesome. You cannot buy them yourself and install them for your apartment, you need to go through a company or professional unit. If you want to be an air conditioner installer, you also need a professional license. The cost of buying the machine, the installation fee, the repair fee. everything adds up to 2,500 euros. This is higher than the minimum wage in France of only 1,200 euros.

Even more problematic is if you live in an apartment building, or where there is a building management board. Then, to get the right to install the air conditioner, you need to participate in a vote at the management meeting to discuss whether it will disturb the neighbors, affect the general appearance of the building or cause harm to the neighbors. no damage to the building. And voting will require more than half of the people to agree. It sounds confusing and annoying enough.

People are looking for shade from trees and water to escape the summer heat.

In the summer of 2019, sales staff at the French department store Bashiwei Electric sold just over 350 air conditioners. And they're basically portable air conditioners. Since these types of air conditioners do not require an installation license, their prices range from 450-900 euros.

Of course, in public places like the Louvre, libraries, supermarkets and large restaurants are all air-conditioned. And this is becoming a gathering place for people to avoid the hot sun outside.

And yet, some countries like the UK also have strict requirements for the installation of air conditioners, when it is required that they are not allowed to be installed on the surface of the building. That is, the heater of the air conditioner must be installed on the roof or on the ground. This means that you will have to use copper extension pipes, making the cost even more expensive than the original price of an air conditioner.

If not "surprised" enough, in Germany, the price of an air conditioner with a capacity of 1.5HP is more than 700 euros, but the installation fee is up to 1,100 euros. Electricity to operate it is also a huge expense, about 0.3 euros per number, while the average person's monthly income is just over 2,000 euros.

The outdoor temperature notice board is more than 40 degrees Celsius.

Besides, in the use of air conditioners, the climate problems that they can cause are also paid attention by European countries.

According to a 2018 report by the International Energy Agency, greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants to power air conditioners will nearly double by 2050. And these emissions will contribute to global warming, and may continue to increase fuel demand for air conditioners.

The UK government also points out that rising temperatures due to climate change could increase demand for energy-intensive cooling systems, and they could go against the country's goal of reducing energy consumption. net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

In Europe, you can't install air conditioning everywhere you want.

But when you can't stand the heat, and also don't use the air conditioner, things can get very bad, even fatal.

Therefore, some scientists believe that the solution is not to convince countries to stop using air conditioners, but to make them more energy efficient, such as setting efficiency standards. energy or phase out refrigerant.

It's no surprise that climate change is causing temperatures to rise around the world, and we're almost constantly seeing and experiencing "the hottest summer on record" all year long. another year.

Scientists have shown that heat waves in Europe are increasing in frequency and intensity faster than "most other places" on Earth.

The main cause is global warming. The average temperature today is about 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer than in the late 19th century, due to emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. And global warming not only brings extreme temperatures, it also affects atmospheric and ocean circulation.

The earth is warming up and we are the ones who feel it the most.

Kai Kornhuber, a researcher at Columbia University, found that heatwaves in Europe have increased in frequency and intensity over the past 40 years and are related to changes in the jet stream. Rays are winds that are fast moving (from 100 km/h to 400 km/h), narrow (several hundred km wide and less than 5 km in height) and at high altitudes (about 11 km). In many cases, the jet stream has split in two, leaving an area of ​​weak wind and high-pressure air between the two branches that will lead to extremely high heat accumulation.

At the same time, one of the great ocean currents in the world, the Atlantic meridian convection current (AMOC), is also changing.

In 2021, Dr Efi Rousi, a senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany, used computer simulations to show that as the world warms, ocean currents weaken would lead to changes in atmospheric circulation, making European summers drier.

The coldest place on Earth is also warming.

The persistence of heatwaves in Europe may also be related to the faster Arctic warming. Because the temperature difference between the North Pole and the equator decreases, resulting in a decrease in the summer monsoon, allowing this weather system to last longer.

According to a recent study by experts, heat waves are now three times more frequent than in pre-industrial times and are 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer.

Stephen Belcher, head of technology at the Met Office, said that if emissions continue to be high, "we could see a heatwave like this every three years".

Climate change is mainly caused by humans.

"Hot" is always a "new" topic every year. It seems that every year we come across news like: "Hotest summer in history", "Breaking high temperature records", "Exploding heat" . People are often skeptical about change. climate, but is it man-made, or just a natural evolutionary process?

In August 2021, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on climate change. The report indicates that about 95%-100% of climate warming is due to human activities and about 0-5% is due to natural factors.

And it is a disaster for many countries, with extreme heat events occurring more frequently, lasting longer and more intensely.

At the recent Climate Dialogue in Petersburg, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made clear his position on the climate crisis that "countries must act immediately".

"Half of humanity is at risk of floods, droughts, storms and wildfires. No country is immune from this wave of influence. However, we continue to experience dependency dependent on fossil fuels. What bothers me the most is that we cannot work together as a multilateral community in the face of this global crisis.", Mr. Guterres said.

When the heat has become a global problem, the solution is not only in air conditioners. We have the right to choose, collective action or collective suicide, everything is in our own hands.