The UK's extreme heat is shifting the conversation about air conditioning?

[Pinball1970]

29 (85 F) is around our nightly low these days. Our high is currently around 40 (105 F) here in Ft Worth. AC is very common around here. On the flipside, winters have been very mild the last few years.

I could not exist at that temperature, sleep, commute, work, commute, sleep.

See below.

Interim heat mortality monitoring report, England: May and June 2026

www.gov.uk

The rest of Europe reported similar numbers.

Google Ai

"Country-Specific Tolls Germany: Nearly 9,800 heat-related deaths estimated by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).France: Over 2,000 excess deaths logged during the peak June heatwave window.United Kingdom: An estimated 2,877 heat-associated fatalities reported across the May and June heatwaves by the ⁠UK Health Security Agency.Spain: Approximately 3,000 heat-linked fatalities recorded following persistent high temperatures."

In terms of winters, we get to about -7C, Scotland got as low as -12.6C in 2025.

 

[Seattle]

Also, the highs of dry desert states are no comparison to what the summers of humid states feel like at the same temps. Many a film or television crew and cast accustomed to the former have complained bitterly about having to shoot on location in the latter (during that time of year).
__

I grew up in eastern NC and playing tennis was hell in the summer with high temps and high humidity.

I moved out west and was visiting a friend in Central California and we played tennis on a public court and as we were leaving I looked up and saw a time and temperature sign on a nearby local bank building.

It said 90 F and it felt like 70 F to me. That was my first experience with lower humidity and higher temperature. Later I moved to Phoenix and because very acquainted with high temps and low humidity.

Our joke was any day below 100 F felt cool and any day much above that was just hot, dry or not. The difference is you can sit by the pool at a table that has a sun umbrella and it makes a big difference. In NC, it makes almost no difference.