Europe sees more than 1,300 excess deaths amid brutal heatwave, WHO says

[Musings]

Think you are very mistaken about who wears the trousers in my household.....

lol

On a serious note - we imported some aircons a few years ago - portable units. Struggled to sell but eventually found a buyer - in UAE. Were just too loud.
Now we bought some ceiling fans ready for next week - another heatwave apparantly

 

[Yasser76]

lol

On a serious note - we imported some aircons a few years ago - portable units. Struggled to sell but eventually found a buyer - in UAE. Were just too loud.
Now we bought some ceiling fans ready for next week - another heatwave apparantly

Same, selling mind on ebay and already got some block paying same price as for what i bought it for in cash and will come and pick up!

Wife says it is too loud, was the Meacocool 16,000. Wife now says we need the 7,000. Wish she has mentiond that before. They are all sold out now and next week is another heatwave.

Unsure how effective fans were, we bought one a few years ago and it just blew hot air at us.

So retiring abroad mate

 

[Musings]

So retiring abroad mate

Cracking properties in Mumbai bro - let me know if you need a hand packing up etc.
me and @Master Chief are free in August

 

[_Arabia_]

Worst thing is that housing in Europe, outside of Southern Europe, is not geared (unless it is brand new) for such high temperatures during the summer at all. Most places do not have air conditioning either.

Even most metros do not have any type of air conditioning which is frankly a disgrace. Let alone trains and other public transportation.

Air con is common in Spain but it's too expensive the electric energy bill to keep cool a home.

In Arabia and in the Arab world in general, before the era of modern air condition etc., windcatchers, courtyards, mashrabiya screens, building materials with high thermal mass such as stone and stone houses, mud bricks, coral stone, granite, sandstone etc. were used and served their purpose very well. To this day people living in such housing can do without air conditioning.

Nowadays you have air condition almost everywhere (even bus stops outside) during the 3-4 hottest months (summer) during the year.

Similar to how traditional houses and housing was constructed in South Europe. Albeit slightly different materials were used.

I remember once staying in Spain on holidays in a traditional hacienda (stone house) and it was perfectly fine without air condoning even during high temperatures or in the middle of the day.

 

[Ali_Baba]

Worst thing is that housing in Europe, outside of Southern Europe, is not geared (unless it is brand new) for such high temperatures during the summer at all. Most places do not have air conditioning either.

Even most metros do not have any type of air conditioning which is frankly a disgrace. Let alone trains and other public transportation.

In Arabia and in the Arab world in general, before the era of modern air condition etc., windcatchers, courtyards, mashrabiya screens, building materials with high thermal mass such as stone and stone houses, mud bricks, coral stone, granite, sandstone etc. were used and served their purpose very well. To this day people living in such housing can do without air conditioning.

Nowadays you have air condition almost everywhere (even bus stops outside) during the 3-4 hottest months (summer) during the year.

Similar to how traditional houses and housing was constructed in South Europe. Albeit slightly different materials were used.

I remember once staying in Spain on holidays in a traditional hacienda (stone house) and it was perfectly fine without air condoning even during high temperatures or in the middle of the day.

Houses in the UK ( and northern Europe ) are all designed with one thing in mind, ie to keep the heat in as the UK and northern Europe are cold places.

However, it feels like that is now changing, and we will need to adapt and change.

 

[Ali_Baba]

I read in the French media that only a quarter of France has air conditioning, so I would like to say that this quarter of people are violating European environmental policies The remaining three-quarters of the population continue to follow environmental rules.
I suggest that European car manufacturers should not equip their cars with air conditioners, because burning gasoline for cooling is less environmentally friendly.

Things change, and policies will change with them...

 

[Ali_Baba]

TBF Met line and Liz line air con is first class

Yep - and when the rolling stock is refreshed, they are all coming with A/C. The Tube is old, and built at a time when some countries only had bicycles to get around on....

 

[Watandar]

This is yet another culture war by US media. They simply don't know anything else. There are alternatives to A/C that people use to stay cool and in many countries, electricity is so expensive that A/C isn't even affordable.

If you go to Pakistan, yeah people use A/c but they also use more affordable electric fans and even that in-between option of fans that have a water tank and gently add cool mist to the room.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Cracking properties in Mumbai bro - let me know if you need a hand packing up etc.
me and @Master Chief are free in August

I have some FF miles that need to be used.

 

[_Arabia_]

Houses in the UK ( and northern Europe ) are all designed with one thing in mind, ie to keep the heat in as the UK and northern Europe are cold places.

However, it feels like that is now changing, and we will need to adapt and change.

Yes, I know, having lived in Europe for half of my life and in quite a few European countries (North, Central and South).

It has the exact opposite effect during the summer.

However I know that most modern housing (houses and apartments), even in Northern Europe, are starting to adjust to the new reality during the summer.

However it is beyond a disgrace that there is no airconditioning in metros, trains etc. in much of Europe, outside of the south.

For instance there is no airconditioning in Paris Metro (LOL). Despite France being most hard hit by the recent heat waves. For the past many years in fact.

Traditional Arab courtyard:



Mashrabiya (most common in Hejaz in the Arab world - closely followed by next door Egypt and also in Iraq):



Modern windcatchers used in the University of Doha:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/New-type-of-windcatcher-used-in-University-of-Qatar-Doha-25_fig4_233982408

Traditional stone houses (Rijal Almaa) in KSA:



Even desert towns/villages (traditional) in Najd, used architecture completely adjusted to the local climate:





It is a shame that we do not see more traditional architecture (adapted to each climate) more across the entire world. Instead we often see the same generic modern architecture.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

This is yet another culture war by US media. They simply don't know anything else. There are alternatives to A/C that people use to stay cool and in many countries, electricity is so expensive that A/C isn't even affordable.

If you go to Pakistan, yeah people use A/c but they also use more affordable electric fans and even that in-between option of fans that have a water tank and gently add cool mist to the room.

I miss the time when the US media actually reported the news rather than sensationalize or invent it to fit their agenda.

FWIW, it was 55F when we woke up at 0515. Currently have every window open in the house to cool it off. The high is supposed to hit 85F later this afternoon. If the day is like yesterday, I doubt we'll have the A/C on at all. The house is built that well.

The new house, which is finally starting to get underway, was purposely designed so as to keep the need for A/C to a minimum. Some of the newer building materials, such as closed-cell spray foam insulation, are outstanding in that regard.