The forecast high for today is 104 in Paris, part of the predominantly Muslim region of Europe (measured by hours spent in religious observance).
It is supposed to hit 106 in Berlin on Sunday using the temperature units that God prefers:
The most popular outfit for women in these Islamic cities is a black burqa or at least a full covering that includes a hijab (not for a majority of females, of course, but the burqa/near-burqa would have a plurality; France is apparently jammed with haters and bans face coverings, but an uncovered face won’t provide a lot of cooling). This is not an ideal match for the prevailing hot sunny weather. Previously, Europeans said that they didn’t need A/C because they would just tough out the two-month heatwaves, like the one that hit the pre-Islamic UK in 1911 (temps up to 100). But now that these countries want to be welcoming toward their new citizens, many of whom do not have the option to strip down to a bikini (haram), why not fully air-condition apartment buildings and public spaces?
What’s it like over there? I’ve been talking to rich friends in Europe. All live in single-family houses that cost over $1 million. All are being subject to outside temperatures of 97-103 degrees F. None have air conditioning. Answer from a $15,000/month small house in Switzerland: “AC? We are Europoors.” When the heat began, he said that he was “surviving on the eight sleep, which actually does a decent job of cooling the bed”. (This seems to be a 400W Peltier cooler and, thus, will make the room hotter.) Today, though, “Last night was the most painful. 8sleep couldn’t keep up. [Slender Spanish-born] Wife, who is always cold and considers AC the Antichrist, even asked to chill her side of the bed. Still have no temp gauge to measure, but felt like sleeping in a sauna.” A reader in the Paris suburbs has the luxury of basement access, presumably denied to apartment-dwellers. It’s an inferno above-ground in the house (about 86F on the ground floor and much hotter upstairs), but the basement has stayed at 70 and the family is sleeping there.
A Dutch academic: “I have a PhD graduation today here. It’s a big affair where I need to put on a black suit and, over that, the toga and hat. There’s no AC in the building.” (He’s in a 4-story townhouse with no AC and also no screens on the windows. There aren’t that many mosquitoes in Holland and the Dutch apparently don’t mind sharing their houses with flies.)
New York Times, regarding the peasants in their stacked boxes:
Mr. Dewison’s apartment, like most in London, has no air-conditioning, and he said the temperature there had reached 45 degrees Celsius, or 113 Fahrenheit. He said he was worried about future heat waves and their effects on nature. “This is a bit mad,” he said.
Here’s how the Europeans are supposed to manage (source):
(Note that this means spending the entire day in the dark.)
Here’s an odd twist: the subset of Europeans rich enough to afford a trip to Miami or Houston for World Cup games ended up being far cooler than their (often Islamically covered) neighbors who stayed home. Both Miami and Houston have lower high temps than Paris or Berlin, for example. The stadium in Houston is fully air-conditioned. Any hotel where a spectator might stay is, of course, fully air-conditioned. So “the Germans went to Houston to cool off” is an accurate statement!
Circling back to the main question: Why won’t the Europeans, at least those who’ve received maximum enrichment from Syria, Afghanistan, and other conservative Muslim societies, go all-in on A/C as part of their transformation into places where fully covered Muslim women can feel at home, welcome, and comfortable?
IMO, the Western (UK, French, German, Dutch) negative attitude towards AC was built by government education or propaganda (depending on your attitude towards it). The main arguments are the increased energy use and the subsequent CO2 emissions (completely bunk argument in France due to its lowest CO2 / kWh of electricity and already half bunk in the other countries due to their huge surplus of solar electricity at peak AC demand times), frigorific fluid leaks (today completely bunk argument because today’s machines use low single digit kg quantities of very low CO2 equivalent factor) and the heat island effect (also completely bunk, ~1C at night outside, compared to the +12C *inside* without AC). Also, punitively high electricity costs, for terrible reasons.
The relentless government education of the population about these factors has lead to most of the people of these Western EU countries reflexively recoiling when they hear the word AC.
Ironically, the government bodies authoring these arguments and their media allies work in climate controlled buildings. You can check an example here:
https://x.com/levelsio/status/2069980279192604808?s=20
> They found out the most far left newspaper of France, which is by the way most radically against air conditioning
> Has their entire roof covered in AC units
> Rules for thee, not for me 😂
> The main arguments are the increased energy use and the subsequent CO2 emissions […]
One would add to this the carbon footprint from advertising and spreading the propaganda that AC’s cause CO2 emissions as well.
Nobody seems to care about that for electric cars. Like the carbon footprint from R&D related to cars and millions spent on advertising, and speaking non-stop about why one must or mustn’t buy electric cars:
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths#Myth2
I hope that it’s because the footprint is small.
Lack of AC kills many Europeans each year.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152766
Cold weather kills 9x more people than hot weather:
https://x.com/BjornLomborg/status/1596537142678900736
Anon, I’m a New European that is hoping to kill millions of Europeans this year (with or without AC and in warm and cold weather)! Will you join cause? Allahu Akbar!
It is a legally feasible approach to kill pensioners and make the pension system economically viable again. Nothing to see, move along.
I wonder how they feel about data centers.
The Economist wrote about this recently:
https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/06/18/europeans-should-learn-to-love-the-air-conditioner
Bypass paywall:
https://archive.is/RMl0f
My wife is from Slovenia and we’ve visited her family many times over Summers with blistering hot weather so I’m quite familiar with how this works.
There is no A/C. Instead, there are thick walls and well-insulated windows. And there are no window screens or screen doors. The rules are that the windows should be kept closed during the day to avoid letting in the hot air, and also kept closed at night to avoid letting in the mosquitoes. (Which are not like the friendly slow mosquitoes in North America that are easy to slap when they bite; these hurt when they bite and jump away like houseflies when you try to slap them.)
I’ve been advocating the installation of screens for going on two decades now. They try but the fabric they source and staple on often has holes that critters can slip through, and they’re always installed so as to allow ample space for critters to go around. Fortunately I have a high tolerance for both heat and mosquitoes, and I’ve learned to use portable fans to maximum advantage.
BP: I can’t figure out the European aversion to screens. It should be possible to save the planet from Donald Trump-induced Climate Change and still screen out mosquitoes. I guess the thick walls are good until it is hot for days on end.
“The decision [to turn off AC in EU Brussels HQ] sparked outrage among employees because the shutdown selectively targeted only the lower seven floors, where general staff offices are located. Meanwhile, the upper floors—which house the offices of von der Leyen on the 13th floor and most of her commissioners on floors eight and above—retained their cooling systems.”
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/brussels-hq-lower-floor-cooling-switched-off-during-heatwave/
Regarding muslims, I wonder if they come from countries where their houses have AC or not.
Phil, in other sad Burqa news, your Homeland in Portugal has banned the Burqa. What is your thinking on this incredibly sad event in what is a one of the Great Countries of the World.
So many apologies. I forgot to attach the very important link to the story!
https://x.com/AndreCVentura/status/2075182215424541041