I've said this before, but: It's not really useful to make this type of comment. The sneering at, say, European "so-called heat waves" where temperatures are c

I've said this before, but: It's not really useful to make this type of comment. The sneering at, say, European "so-called heat waves" where temperatures are comparable to an average summer day in many parts of the US fails to take into account that sustained temperatures at those levels, in places unaccustomed to them, can indeed easily be fatal, and do not represent a failure of the residents to adapt. Rather, they occur because the residents have adapted -- to the recent-historical climate of their region! In Europe, one big killer is buildings which were designed on the assumption that, even after a rare hot day, things would cool off significantly at night and buildings could shed heat. Sustained higher-than-planned temperatures take away that ability to shed heat overnight, so instead buildings retain heat, and keep getting blasted each day, and that is when people start dying. Even here in the US you can see this. I live in the SF Bay area, in an un-air-conditioned building. Most of the time, I don't need A/C, because I'm in an east-facing apartment that can cool off through the afternoon once the sun's no longer coming directly in, especially with windows open and a bit of breeze, and then become downright chilly at night. But sometimes we now get sustained high temperatures for days on end, and when that happens people really do start dying here (and I turn on a portable A/C unit, leave it running 24 hours, and even sleep on the couch to be in front of it at night).