Intensifying heat waves are creating livability issues in cities like London that have long gotten by without air conditioning.
Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg
‘I Don’t Want to Go Home.’ Europe’s Housing Is Not Heat-Ready
Millions of people on the world’s fastest-warming continent live in houses and apartments ill-equipped for rising temperatures.
Emily Wilkie’s introduction to motherhood has been monopolized by heat.
A 34-year-old charity director, Wilkie lives in London with her husband and their four-month-old son Dylan. Their apartment’s large windows make for an airy space that appealed to Wilkie’s husband when he bought the place, but they also let in constant sunlight. Once the temperature outside cracks 27C (80F), the flat stays at least three degrees warmer. In summer months, the family dog wears a cooling vest. Dylan, Wilkie says, is “constantly sweaty.”