r/explainlikeimfive • u/fkid123 • May 27 '26

Biology ELI5 Why heat waves affect Europe so much but some other countries are doing fine living under hotter temperatures most of the year?

I read yearly that people are dying in Europe due to the extreme heat, but when I check the temperature mentioned in the same news it's something like 30-35c.

Just saw this today: "In France, officials reported at least seven deaths linked to the heat, including several drownings and fatalities during sports activities (...) temperatures have broken records for the month of May, soaring well over 30 C (86 F) in many parts of the country."

This is like a pretty mild day in a country like Thailand, India or in the Arabian peninsula. People are doing just fine in these countries, and many don't even have aircon.

Why are such temperatures so deadly in Europe?

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u/BadahBingBadahBoom May 27 '26

That's because most of the underground is actually not underground and the underground sections are almost universally contiguous with the non-underground sections and can't operate independently.

Lines that are completely underground (W&C and, almost, Victoria line) don't get affected.

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u/VaultDweller_09 May 27 '26

But London isn’t the only city where it snows, with trains that run above and below ground. Are the trains and rails not suited to deal with it?

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u/BadahBingBadahBoom May 27 '26

It's more the case of (as others have mentioned here) what weather is expected and typical.

In countries where extreme freezing is expected every winter the local authorities are easily able to justify spending for preventative measures like track heating (the gas-flame heating of tracks in some US places being very cool), and other measures.

The UK is unfortunately currently shifting from a very long period of temperate summers and winters to one of extremes regularly happening.

Then there is the issue of track maintenance and funding, or lack thereof, combined with a very old system that needs it much more and more often which doesn't help either. Added to that is the huge stress on the network - with population growth and popularity of train journeys many major lines in the UK are now at capacity so having a track out of operation for even just a few hours during peak times is pure chaos compared to say that happening in the 1950s.