Many families in Germany and Northern Europe, unlike those in the United States or parts of Asia, are not equipped to cope with extreme temperatures.
Meanwhile, rising temperatures are becoming an increasingly visible phenomenon on a global scale.
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In countries such as the United States, Australia and Japan, summer heat and humidity are usually managed with the cool air of air conditioners. In many parts of Europe, however, the most common way to stay cool remains far more basic: lowering shutters, using fans and keeping ice water close at hand.
Data from the U.S. Department of Energy show that around 90 percent of residents in the United States have air conditioning at home. In Europe, although climate conditions in some countries are comparable, that figure reaches only about 20 percent, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), although the differences between countries are large.
In Spain, nearly half of homes are equipped with air conditioning. In Germany, meanwhile, a study commissioned by the comparison portal Verivox shows that only about 6 percent of homes have a fixed air-conditioning system, while another 13 percent use portable units, which usually provide noticeably weaker cooling. The reason is that until recently, in many European countries, especially in the north, air conditioners were not considered necessary.
Hot summers have always existed — what has changed now?
High temperatures have always been part of the summer season in Europe. What has changed is that extreme heat waves are appearing more often and with greater intensity. When high temperatures last for days or weeks, they put infrastructure, ecosystems and people’s health at risk. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has noted that these extreme episodes are increasing faster than climate models had predicted, particularly in Western Europe.
A recent analysis by ClimaMeter, a group of European researchers focused on extreme weather events, found that temperatures in June 2026 were around 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than they would have been under similar conditions at the end of the 20th century. “This situation leads to an immediate increase in demand for electricity for cooling,” explained Tommaso Alberti, an Italian researcher at ClimaMeter, in a statement.
In Germany, demand for air conditioners and cooling devices rose by 75 percent between 2019 and 2024, which was the hottest year on record so far. Eurovent, the industry association for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technology, has also noted a “steady” increase in recent years.
Despite this trend, resistance to air conditioning in Europe remains strong. Stijn Renneboog, Eurovent’s deputy secretary general, said that even in advice circulating on social media about how to stay cool, recommendations against using air conditioning continue to appear. “Cooling is still very often considered a luxury,” Renneboog wrote in an email to DW. He underlined that heat poses a serious threat to public health: “In Europe, there are tens of thousands of deaths linked to high temperatures every year.”
European homes were built for heating, not for air conditioning
For most Europeans, keeping their homes cool during the summer is a challenge. In Germany and other parts of Central and Northern Europe, many houses and apartments were designed to retain warmth during the cold months, not to ensure optimal cooling during heatwaves. A recent study showed that nearly half of respondents across the EU rely on improved shading and insulation to avoid the heat. However, a growing number are also considering the use of air conditioners.
“The time when air conditioners in Europe were still not very widespread is approaching its end,” Helge Brinkmann, deputy director at Boston Consulting Group and a specialist in green energy and the environment, said in an analysis in September 2025.
However, the same analysis stresses that installing air-conditioning systems in Europe’s older residential buildings is often difficult. Extensive renovations can make it possible to install new systems, but in cities with historic buildings, “additional administrative and aesthetic obstacles” often also have to be overcome.
“A serious social and health policy problem”
Another obstacle for many Europeans remains cost. Rising energy prices are making it more expensive to cope with the heat, and 38 percent of respondents in an EU-wide survey said they could not afford to cool their homes.
A 2020 study analyzed how global warming is increasing the need for air conditioning in countries with mild climates such as France, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. The conclusion was that lower-income groups are disproportionately affected. According to Stijn Renneboog of Eurovent, heating in winter is seen as a basic necessity, while the same logic is not applied to cooling. “Perhaps we should also accept that the inability to cool buildings safely during the summer is also becoming a serious social and health problem.”
Environmental concerns have also so far helped slow the spread of air conditioners in Europe. Over the past decade, total energy consumption for cooling residential buildings and other spaces in the EU has risen steadily, especially since 2020. According to the latest Eurostat data, although energy consumption for heating buildings fell slightly in 2024, that for cooling rose by 15.3 percent compared with the previous year.
Are there alternatives to air conditioners?
Yes, according to Jean-Sebastien Broc of the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy, there are more environmentally friendly solutions than traditional air conditioners. During a heat wave in July 2025, he explained: “New buildings can be designed in a way that limits the need for cooling, by prioritizing alternatives to air conditioners.”
These alternatives include designing buildings to allow natural air circulation through spaces, as well as using materials that absorb less heat.
Buildings should also be equipped with better sun-protection systems, such as shutters, awnings and roof overhangs. Modern heat pumps, which are already standard in some countries while in others they remain relatively expensive, offer a more energy- and emissions-efficient way to heat homes. Their newer versions can also have a cooling function, which is useful during the summer.
Beyond measures in buildings, green spaces and water features can also help reduce temperatures in cities and mitigate the urban heat island effect. Many cities are also relying on shared solutions, such as misting systems and public cooling centers. In cities such as Paris, Stockholm and Copenhagen, air conditioning is already being centralized in a way similar to district heating, through district cooling: chilled water passes through underground pipes to several buildings to cool them. /DW
