Do you think air conditioning is a luxury or necessity?

[BadApple69]

Just learned 40 people drowned in Europe due to a current heat wave Europe is having.
Only 10% of Europeans have air conditioning in their homes while in the U. S. it’s 90%.
Per capita the U. S. sees 3 to 8 heat related deaths per million while Europe has 60 to 200 deaths per million. I never realized there was such a big difference.

[purplepoppy]

My thermometer is reading 33°C (92°F) and it's about 65% humidity so air con would be nice. But heat waves tend to be short lived here, summer is usual 20-25 and for the rest of the year you're trying to keep the cold and wet out so it's hard to justify spending money on air con that won't be used 99% of the time

[lilBigPotato]

Entirely depends on the location. Some parts of Europe only have a few weeks at most of really hot weather, while others have multiple months.

[Just_Ken]

Big cities are magnets for heat waves, all that concrete and brick you see. They should start looking at how the muddke east deals with it.

Air con costs money but when your obese like most Americans its a necessity

[InknKink]

Air conditioning and temperature controlled mattresses are a necessity in life.

[Billlewis]

As someone who lived in Chicago for forty years, I can tell you that although it may not necessarily be a necessity in the strictest sense of the word, it ain't much fun when you're on the 3rd floor of a brick building that was built a hundred years ago, and designed to hold the heat in. In the city, the only people who have AC are in highrise buildings or new construction homes; the remaining 70% or so try make do with a window unit, usually in only one room. Europe's chronic heat related issues are mostly due to enviromaniac green legislation, to my understanding.

[loveslongnails]

Europe's death rate per million due to heat is twice that of the USA. The upward trend has been going on for the past 20 years, with many countries seeing prolonged or multiple heat waves and higher average temperature. Global warming? Other combined factors? The science community discussions go on.

In some area's, it's a necessity for older populations that are most vulnerable. In other areas, it's viewed as an add-on, not necessarily a luxury. If I lived in an area subject to heat waves, I'd at least have a portable set-up ready to go as needed.

[LazerBean]

People survived without it for thousands of years, so technically speaking it is a luxury.

[strateguy632]

they people can use fans. like a computer cpu box.

[DryGermanGuy]

Depends on where you are, is it in Malmö, Sweden or in Naples, Italy?

[exitseven]

It depends on where you are. States like Texas are very hot and need AC.

[canamlusciouslad73]

Especially in the South and South Central States.

[usernameobvious]

A necessity in my worldview 🙂

[Micheal6918]

It is a necessity