How to Adapt Home Design for Extreme Heat
From courtyards to ivy-covered walls, cooling solutions can be found in regions with experience building for high temperatures.
In the Mediterranean, climbing plants are frequently used to cool down buildings.
Photographer: Vladimir Mironov/Getty Images
The cooler parts of the northern hemisphere are getting hotter. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, and Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world — a trend driven by both regions’ northernmost extremes. That means millions of people live in homes built for weather that no longer exists.
The implications could be deadly. In 2003, a heat wave in Europe killed at least 70,000 people, and last year record-breaking temperatures caused an estimated 61,672 heat-related deaths across 35 countries in the region. The risks are particularly acute for people who spend a lot of time indoors — Europeans and North Americans spend about 90% of their time inside — and for people unaccustomed to keeping their homes cool. Across Europe, less than 10% of people have air conditioners at home; while upping that percentage will help with the heat, AC also adds carbon emissions and strains power grids.