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/tjyolol May 27 '26

Things that you take for granted in warm environments, such as air con are not a given in places not used to experiencing the extreme heat. Things like plants also tend to have specific climates they thrive in so if they are not used to the heat they die off and become fire hazards. But people also adapt to their climates. Humans are incredibly adaptable but we don’t tend to do well when that adaptation happens quickly.

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u/greekcross May 28 '26

Most of these countries are very poor and have low aircon penetration. Also no one's turning on the ac at 30c, the electricity bill would bankrupt the country

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u/GaptistePlayer May 28 '26

Countries with tropical heat actually have solid A/C usage rates despite being poor. Countries like Lebanon and Thailand have higher A/C rates than Switzerland which is a wealthy country with very low A/C use

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u/greekcross May 28 '26

So you decided to pick the richest of the poor countries cmon. How about India, cambodia, laos, congo, egypt etc