To AC or not to AC? That is the question roiling a boiling Europe in a historic heat wave

Europeans typically saw AC as an extravagance, a short-term fix that in fact would exacerbate the climate crisis it sought to remedy. The stultifying heat dome currently blanketing the region is challenging that dogma.

LONDON — In a sweltering room above a London pub, Peter Helmis was broiling through a gig like none he’d ever played before. Sure, it gets hot in Pennsylvania, the home of his emo-punk band, but the historic heat wave that’s hit during his European tour carries one brutal difference.

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