A historic heatwave has gripped Europe, breaking temperature records across the continent and exposing a deadly vulnerability: most Europeans households still do not have air conditioning.
In Paris, the mercury hit 40.9 degrees Celsius, while temperatures elsewhere in France climbed as high as 43.8 degrees Celsius. In Germany, the eastern community of Möckern-Drewitz recorded 41.5 degrees Celsius on June 27, breaking the national record set only the previous day.
The record did not last. On June 28, Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, reached 41.7 degrees Celsius. Southern Spain saw highs of 45.1 degrees Celsius. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), at least 101 million people across Europe were exposed to temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius on June 25 alone.
People bathe in a fountain to cool off on the hottest day in Turin, Italy, on July 1, 2026.
The human cost has been severe. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said on June 28 that more than 1,300 heat-related excess deaths had been recorded across Europe since June 21.
France's public health agency reported about 1,000 excess deaths in just three days from June 24 to 26, with people aged 65 and over accounting for 85% of fatalities. During the peak, daily deaths in France exceeded 1,400. Paris emergency services recorded four times the normal number of deaths within 24 hours, and two funeral homes reached full capacity.
In Spain, more than 200 people died from heat-related causes in just four days. Since June 18, France has recorded 40 drownings as people jumped into rivers to cool off. On June 24 alone, Paris recorded 25 cardiac arrests, compared with fewer than 10 on an ordinary summer day.
The heatwave also crippled infrastructure. A transformer failure in France cut power to nearly 70,000 households; in Germany, roads were damaged and rail services were slowed; and in Switzerland, a nuclear reactor was temporarily shut down because river water used for cooling had become too warm.
A product that arrived at the right moment
In the midst of this crisis, one product became a lifeline: Chinese-made air conditioners. Many European consumers do not need a conventional split air conditioner. They need a cooling device that requires no wall drilling or official permits and can be put to use right away. European cities are full of historic buildings, protected heritage structures, and large volumes of rental properties, all scenarios where conventional split air conditioners are difficult to install.
Chinese manufacturers saw this gap and designed a portable split air conditioners with an outdoor unit that can sit on the ground, a balcony, or a windowsill and an indoor unit that can be moved around. The design avoids damage to building facades. Installation requires only a 7-centimetre gap in the window, while the cooling performance rivals that of traditional split units.
A Midea PortaSplit portable air conditioner sits on a retail shelf in a store. (Photo provided for South by Luo Ruixian)
The Midea PortaSplit, for example, sold out across Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and beyond. By late June, the company had sold more than 200,000 units in Europe, double the previous year's volume. In Germany alone, the model surpassed 60,000 units in sales in the first half of 2026. Its official retail price of €699 to €900 was quickly eclipsed by a frenzied secondary market, where units were resold for €1,500 to €5,000. One Austrian consumer drove 200 kilometres to secure the last available unit. In Germany, a programmer built a paid inventory-tracking website covering 1,171 stores. At one point, only one store in the country had stock.
The phenomenon was not limited to Midea. TCL's sales in Western Europe grew more than 27% year on year, with sales in France surging by more than 300%. Haier captured a 22.4% share of Germany's residential air-conditioning market. Even the French government placed an emergency order for 30,000 units for hospitals and nursing homes.
According to customs data, China's air conditioner exports to the EU reached US$3.76 billion in the first half of 2026, up 43.2% year on year. Imports of Chinese air conditioning units more than doubled in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The market share of Chinese brands in Europe has jumped from 27% in 2023 to 41% in the first half of 2026.
Why Europe can't "keep its cool"
Why does a wealthy continent struggle so profoundly with cooling? Europe's air conditioning penetration rate remains strikingly low: only about 20% of households have air-conditioning units. Spain leads at roughly 50%, while France lags at about 10%, the UK at around 5%, and Germany at just 3 to 6%. By contrast, the United States and Japan both exceed 90%.
The reasons are threefold: climate history, building regulations, and cost. For generations, Europe's temperate climate meant air conditioning was rarely necessary. European architecture was designed to retain heat, with thick walls, small windows, and high ceilings. But climate change has upended that assumption.
Electronics stores report soaring demand for cooling appliances in Paris, where many air conditioners and fan models have been sold out during the heatwave.
Scientists with World Weather Attribution labelled this June's heatwave as "the most severe heatwave ever recorded" in Western Europe, with temperatures 5 to 12 degrees Celsius above seasonal averages. Europe is warming at more than twice the global average rate.
Yet Europe's infrastructure has not kept pace. Historic preservation laws in cities across the continent prohibit exterior wall modifications.
In Paris, Vienna, and other historic cities, drilling holes for air-conditioning units is illegal. Rental properties discourage long-term installations. Even in ordinary residential buildings, installation requires approval from homeowners' associations, a process that can take months.
The cost barrier is equally formidable. Installation fees routinely run €1,000 to €2,000, often exceeding the price of the unit itself, and consumers can wait more than two months for a certified technician. On top of this, European electricity prices are two to three times those in China.
The politics of cool air
The reluctance to embrace air conditioning is not purely practical; it is also ideological. European environmentalists have long framed air conditioning as environmentally harmful, arguing that it exacerbates urban heat island effects and increases carbon emissions.
Spain mandated in 2022 that public air conditioning must not be set below 27 degrees Celsius. For years, public discourse in much of Europe treated air conditioning as a "luxury" or an "unnecessary expense."
A woman uses a fan to cool off beside the Temple of Diana in Évora, where temperatures approach 40 degrees Celsius on July 1, 2026.
The hypocrisy of this position has become difficult to ignore. At the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels, air conditioning was reportedly shut off on lower floors while remaining in operation for senior officials on upper floors. Staff on floors 1 through 7 sweltered while those on floor 8 and above, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's office on floor 13, had access to cooling. Staff accused the institution of being "feudal" and "shameful."
French media outlets that published editorials condemning air conditioning were later found to have fully air-conditioned offices. One European consumer put it bluntly: "If there were a French air conditioner, I would buy French. But first there has to be an air conditioner."
A single product, a broader debate
As Chinese air conditioners flood European markets, some European politicians are reviving familiar complaints: "trade imbalance," "unfair competition," and "overcapacity." The European Union is reportedly considering a new tool that would trigger tariffs whenever Chinese exports exceed certain growth thresholds.
Yet the surge in Chinese air conditioner sales tells a different story. European consumers are choosing Chinese products not out of political alignment, but because the local market has failed to offer a viable alternative. This is not dumping; it is a market responding to demand that local industry cannot meet.
European policy has contributed directly to the shortage. Stringent regulations have driven up costs, while protectionist measures have left consumers with fewer options. Europe's building design, energy policies, and industrial planning were built on the assumption of a temperate climate and have proven inadequate for the reality of extreme heat.
Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers invested in understanding local constraints. The Midea PortaSplit was developed over three years, with European teams defining requirements and Italian industrial designers collaborating on the product. Every prototype was tested in Europe and refined before launch. The result is a product that works within Europe's regulatory framework, not against it.
HVAC technicians install an air-conditioning unit in the home of a local resident in Méricourt, northern France, on June 19, 2026.
Trade barriers do not lower room temperatures. Political accusations do not increase supply. Europe's air conditioner shortage is a reminder that the problem is not that China's manufacturing is too strong, but that some countries' own industries and policies have not kept pace. As the WHO has warned, Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth.
Extreme summers are not a passing anomaly; they are the new normal. Chinese air conditioners have already found their way into millions of European homes. The question is whether European policy will catch up with the reality of the climate and the market demand.
Reporter: Guo Zedong
Photo: CFP
