A Paris official is facing backlash after blaming widespread American usage of air conditioning for Europe’s deadly heat wave instead of addressing the continent’s chronic lack of cooling infrastructure.
Socialist Audrey Pulvar, Paris’ deputy mayor for international relations, lashed out after American tourists and commentators mocked France’s lack of air conditioning as temperatures climbed above 100 degrees.
“Dear American journalists and social media ‘influencers’: for days, some of you have been criticizing and making fun of Paris because the city does not have A/C in every room,” Pulvar wrote on social media.
Pulvar blamed the United States, arguing that America is one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters and claiming its heavy use of air conditioning contributes to global warming. “So please, enough with the lecture. Just start doing your part,” she said.
In Italy, authorities placed 22 cities under red heat warnings on Monday, from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the southern island of Sicily. At the Vatican, pilgrims used fans to shield themselves from the extreme heat as Pope Leo delivered his Angelus message from a balcony on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a holiday in Rome.
Europe is enduring one of its worst heat waves on record. French public health officials say more than 1,300 excess deaths have already been recorded since June 21, with elderly residents accounting for many of the fatalities.
Only about one-quarter of French households have air conditioning, among the lowest rates in the developed world. Similar shortages exist across much of Europe, where environmental concerns, strict building regulations, and cultural resistance have discouraged widespread installation despite increasingly frequent extreme heat.
In Ireland, seven consecutive days of hot temperatures have led to weather warnings from the country’s meteorological office, while in London, commuters have grown increasingly worried about dangerously hot Underground trains, where temperatures have frequently exceeded 90 degrees during summer heat waves.
Much of the continent’s transit systems remain without air conditioning because many of the oldest tunnels cannot easily accommodate modern cooling systems.