The "extreme heat" currently gripping much of southern Europe and the Mediterranean is forecast to intensify by mid-week, and new records may be established, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned. Many households across Europe have no air conditioning, even as temperatures surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Italy, Greece and Spain.
Fewer than 10% of European households have air conditioning (AC), according to a 2018 International Energy Agency (IEA) report — the latest data that is available from the agency. In total, the European Union only accounts for about 6% of global AC units.
In contrast, about 90% of households in the US and Japan are equipped with AC.
"Air conditioning is highly concentrated in a small number of countries, with two-thirds of all systems in use found in just three countries – China, the United States and Japan," the International Energy Agency said in the 2018 report.
IEA figures published in 2021 show that the United States accounts for about 20% of global air conditioning units and China accounts for 40% of AC units, while the rest of the world accounts for a combined 29%.
"Europeans have generally been less inclined to install an AC compared with their American counterparts until recently, though this is now changing, with AC ownership in Italy, Spain, Greece and southern France rising rapidly in the last decade," the IEA said in 2018.
While the proliferation of air conditioning in the United States, China and Japan helps those countries stay cool in hot weather, it also increases their energy usage and carbon emissions.
"Using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool accounts for nearly 20% of the total electricity used in buildings around the world today," the International Energy Agency said in its 2018 report. "And this trend is set to grow as the world’s economic and demographic growth becomes more focused in hotter countries."
As the demand for air conditioning increases, European governments are trying to find ways to keep costs and emissions low.
The Italian government has implemented maximum cooling levels in summer and minimal heating in winter in all public buildings except hospitals. Meanwhile, France last summer implemented fines for shops that keep their doors open even when air conditioning is on.
IEA figures from 2021 show that global CO2 emissions from air conditioning amounted to 994 metric tons, which are predominantly indirect emissions from electricity generation.
With an estimated 1.6 billion electric air conditioning units around the world – a number expected to triple by 2050 – cooling technology could release enough greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere to cause temperatures to rise by 0.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to Rocky Mountain Institute.
The IEA noted that investing in more efficient AC units could cut future energy demand in half.
With previous reporting from CNN's Eliza Mackintosh and Ivana Kottasová.
