Sweating in >30°C high-CO2 spaces doesn't improve student's learning.
Which is why perhaps classes should not be suspended in most and less extreme cases, but rather adjusted. And good teachers are already doing that. (And long-term, AC has to be a thing.)
That's... uh... the entire summer in most of southern Europe?
I agree with the general intention, but the thresholds probably need to take into account humidity as well (i.e. be based on wet bulb temperatures), and I don't really see how one can apply a one-size-fits-all policy all the way from Greece to Scandinavia...
China ramps up production & shipping to Europe [1] and a quick glance at Google Trends for Germany, UK and France AC install searches are up 5x from last year, and last year was already double or more of the previous years.
And the ones that don't have it, oh well, too bad :)
Although one temperature threshold probably don't make much sense, a strict 30C across the entire continent would mean massively different things in different countries, in many countries that mean basically the entire summer off, every year.
Geneva already has a version of this. You have to stop outside work at 13h00 unless it's necessary, in which case you have to take 45min breaks for every 15 minutes of work. However the threshold isn't 27C but rather like 32C (from what I understand)
It seems like a basic safety requirement that they are refusing to acknowledge and are now apparently just refusing to go to work completely when it gets hot outside.
But that only works in homes with forced air heating. Most of Europe doesn't use forced air heating. You can replace a boiler with a heat pump, but if you do you don't magically get A/C too.
In 2026 it seems silly to do new builds in a cold climate with anything but a forced air heat pump.
A dry bulb temperature of 30C contains little information regarding safety. Humans are wet and we cool ourselves with evaporation.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/08/unions-e...
The submission just doesn't include it, but that seems to be the goal to apply that concept :)
OP's submission seems very UK / TUC centric, also doesn't include something many here are bringing up, that they indeed plan to base it on the wet bulb temperature.
But, ehhhhhm, yeah... What would you expect unions to do? Push their workers just a bit harder so they get through summer-no-matter-what? Free ice, and not just in their drinks, for everyone all around? Or just recognize that siesta was invented for, like, a reason and go with the deeply-historical flow?
Personally, I think "if you cannot provide a working environment where the ambient temperature is well below 30C (86 in Freedom Units), maybe the work should be postponed, at no cost to the worker" is not an unreasonable collective-bargaining position, but let the downvoting commence...
(P.S. Funny anecdote: in communist China [hiss, boo!] in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics, there was an official directive for working conditions in hot environments, which set thermal time limits, and completely outlawed work [hiss, boo!] when temperatures were above 32C [around 90 in Freedom Units] for the day. The officially published temperature in the newspaper was, without fail, 31C, even if Beijing was cooking, though the largest pollutants would be shut down, especially when the IOC was visiting... [Fox News would be proud!])
That sounds like a big mold risk if its causing condensation in the walls. Wall heating, on the other hand sounds like a great idea.
It's a pretty cool material!
Condensation needs humidity, not just a lower temperature. In summer, this is rare, even though we're in Berlin which is essentially built in the middle of a huge area of low-lying marshy woodlands.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heatwave
The reason is simple to understand. For the majority of the time the AC would sit idle. Some years AC is not required at all because the summer is mild. It's hard to get people to spend money on things that they don't need most of the time, it's like buying insurance.
I know not AC are/were heat pumps but I don't know of any that are not anymore
Further north it hasn't been necessary until very recently, and now people are fighting in shops to buy portable units and there are going to be loads of permanent installations once things settle down later this year.
Southern Spain may, but it's virtually unheard of up here in Galicia/Asturias/Cantabria. Even many businesses in these parts don't have AC, and our Ourense region has pretty regularly had 40+ C days the last ~5 summers
Toning down the snark, to be honest, most places in countries like France and Germany didn't have AC because up to a few years ago, maybe they'd seriously need it one week per year or so... it didn't make sense for them to have it just to keep it turned off 99% of the time. I'm sure they will adapt, but it always takes some time to change the old ways.
We are affected by the weather much more than we'd like to admit.
ydlr•2h ago
donatj•2h ago
nkrisc•58m ago
Most remotely modern interior spaces in Florida are going to be air conditioned so this is already not a problem in Florida.
swiftcoder•55m ago
According to the article, the 30C threshold is for "more demanding jobs in sectors like agriculture and construction", which generally take place outdoors
sarreph•58m ago
For office work, a lot of European countries (especially the UK) haven't invested in AC as much as the rest of the world because they haven't needed to. This is especially apparent in housing, where working from home is becoming difficult in these higher temperatures.
i_am_jl•37m ago
bryanlarsen•54m ago
For outdoor work, protection from extreme heat generally implies shade, hydration, frequent breaks, et cetera.
matwood•41m ago
Mgtyalx•39m ago
Cos today in my pokey town, my house is 30°C, my local library 28°C the gym is at least 25°C and the outside 31°C at a dew point of 15°C. Its not Florida but its the UK and there’s no relief.