While residents of the Middle East and Africa go about their normal lives in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, European capitals declare states of emergency, train services grind to a halt, and hospitals become overwhelmed the moment temperatures touch 30 degrees Celsius — a temperature that counts as a cool summer in some parts of the world. Have Europeans become soft, or does their physiology differ from the rest of the world's population?
The truth is that what happens in Europe is neither of those things. According to the latest scientific studies and reports, it stems from a complex interaction of architectural, climatic, and physiological factors — all of which combine to make rising temperatures in Europe a serious matter that warrants emergency responses.
A study published by the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford points to a structural crisis rooted in the design of European buildings. Lead researcher Dr Radhika Khosla noted that "houses in northern and central Europe were historically and locally designed to retain heat in order to cope with harsh winters."
"When outdoor temperatures rise, these heavily insulated buildings turn into something resembling greenhouses, trapping heat inside and preventing it from escaping — making the indoor environment hotter and more oppressive than the street," she added.
The vast majority of homes in Europe lack air-conditioning systems, which are considered a basic necessity in hotter countries. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), no more than 5% of homes in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany are equipped with air conditioning, compared with more than 90% in the United States and the Arab Gulf states.
The IEA report noted that European cooling relies almost entirely on conventional fans, which scientifically lose their effectiveness when temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius — at that point they push hot air towards people's bodies rather than cooling them.
From a biological standpoint, the human body in Europe experiences "heat shock" due to sudden and dramatic changes in weather. In this context, Dr George Havenith, Professor of Environmental Physiology and Ergonomics at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, confirms that "the human body needs between 10 and 14 days of gradual heat exposure to develop physiological acclimatisation mechanisms, such as increased sweating efficiency and rate, and dilation of blood vessels."
Havenith added: "In Middle Eastern countries, the heat index rises gradually over weeks, giving residents the opportunity to acclimatise. In Europe, however, heatwaves strike suddenly, with temperatures rising by 15 degrees Celsius or more within just a few days, depriving the body of the time needed to adjust its self-cooling mechanisms and leading to rapid heat exhaustion."
The nature and planning of old European cities compounds the severity of the crisis. According to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), major European cities suffer acutely from the urban heat island phenomenon. Narrow streets and densely packed stone buildings absorb solar radiation during the day and re-emit it at night, preventing temperatures from falling during the night-time hours and depriving residents of the physiological recovery that normally occurs during sleep.
In a risk assessment briefing, Dr Hans Henri Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO), warned that the absence of structural preparedness and physical acclimatisation makes heatwaves in Europe a "silent killer." He stressed the need for urban adaptation and a reassessment of building standards to confront the extreme climate changes from which the old continent can no longer consider itself immune.