From ‘heat panic’ to ‘sacrificed at the altar’: Europe’s air conditioning culture wars heat up

Source: www.theguardian.com · Section: business-tech · Bias: Center-Left · Published: Sun, 05 Jul 2026 05:00:18 GMT

Cooling down has become political amid record highs, as experts say row is distracting from work of protecting livesAs the afternoon heat rose to a dizzying 41.7C (107F) in eastern Brandenburg on Sunday, taking German temperatures to unprecedented highs, Mario, 65, took precautions but did not panic. Two years ago, a fierce heatwave had prompted him to buy a powerful device that few Germans own: an air conditioning unit.“The summers are slowly getting warmer,” says the retired handyman in Neuzelle on the German-Polish border, whose bungalow is now among the 6% of German homes with fixed air-conditioning. “And as you get older, the heat gets harder to endure.” Continue reading...

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