Brutal heatwaves: How many in the EU can’t afford air conditioning?

Summer has arrived early this year, with Europe already sweltering under record-breaking temperatures.

In France, the mercury peaked at 37°C, a first for May, while the UK also broke its monthly record, with temperatures reaching 34.8°C in London. The same goes for Ireland, with an unprecedented 30.5°C.

Nonetheless, the majority of EU citizens, 68%, don’t have air conditioning (AC) or fan systems at home, according to a European Environment Agency report entitled “Overheated and Underprepared”.

Which countries struggle the most to afford AC?

While some countries may not need it — Europe isn’t equally hot everywhere — more than one in three people (38%) say they are unable to afford AC.

Numbers are particularly high in some of the hottest parts of the continent: 42% in France, 46% in Greece, 45% in Portugal, and more than a third in Spain (34%), Italy (37%) and Romania (39%).

A concerning picture, given that more than one in four EU citizens is aged over 65, with some of the oldest populations concentrated in countries such as Italy, Portugal or Greece.

At the same time, Malta (8.5%), Luxembourg (18%) and Ireland (20%) emerged as having the fewest issues affording AC or fan systems.

There are, of course, other ways to keep homes cool, like shutters, awnings, or external shading.

Still, the majority of people in Spain (61%), Portugal (59%), Italy (57%) or Cyprus (51%) say their houses don’t even have those features.

Hot weather worries more than any other climate issue

That doesn’t mean that people aren’t worried about hot temperatures.

Heat is the number one climate-related concern for EU citizens (85%), more than floods (80%), fires (82.5%) or water scarcity (80.5%).

Concern runs particularly high in the Mediterranean: 75% in Cyprus, 71% in Greece, and 70% in Malta say they are “very” or “quite” worried about extremely high temperatures.

Also, around half of EU respondents already feel too hot at home (50%), at work (47%), and more than 60% in their neighbourhood (61%).

No AC: Italians and Germans face summer post office queue hell

Local communities report mixed heat responses from local authorities, and, in general, it seems quite rare to come across “cooling centres” or any public buildings equipped with AC.

Italians, in particular, seem doomed to melt, with only 15% reporting use of AC in public buildings, and the figure is even lower in Germany, 7%. It is much higher in Greece, Malta and Romania, with around 40% of citizens enjoying cooled public spaces.

Greeks love AC but shun trees as Cyprus adjusts work schedules

Tree planting seems like a cheaper, more consistent and eco-friendly option to get by, and 36% of EU residents say they can see it being implemented around them.

However, uptake varies widely, as rates range from 59% of reported tree planting in Hungary to just 22% in Greece — the third lowest across the EU.

Another response on the hottest days can be adjusting work or school schedules.

Yet, only 15% of EU citizens have observed these measures, with responses ranging from 39% in Cyprus to just 8% in Portugal.

Local authorities seem more active when it comes to heatwave alerts — such as phone calls, text messages or communication through the media — reported by 57% of respondents.

At the same time, this type of communication seems to be more about emergency response than prevention, with fewer citizens (42.5%) reporting exposure to awareness campaigns on extreme weather health risks and recommended action.