The heatwave across Europe and high temperatures we have seen here should not be forgotten when the heat subsides. It will happen again. And the quality of our housing stock will help determine how well we cope.

The climate crisis is really a health crisis. Although we have been reading about France recording an extra 1,000 heat-related deaths last week, the number of people dying in Europe each year from heat is far more alarming.

In 2024, the Lancet Countdown recorded 62,775 heat-related deaths across Europe, many of them older people. Ireland’s population is ageing, and older people (and infants) are more vulnerable to extremes of heat.

Exposure to extreme heat doesn’t just cause heatstroke, it also worsens heart disease – already one of the leading causes of premature death and disability in Ireland – and can cause acute kidney injury. Even temperatures above 25 degrees can put older and more vulnerable groups such as people with diabetes and infants at risk.

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Responses are usually last-minute and panic-induced: when the heatwave began in Europe, the French supermarket Carrefour reported selling 30,000 air conditioning units by 6.30pm in one day – a thousand times more than a normal day. Spot electricity prices also rose quickly.

Countries used to hot weather have houses designed to minimise heat gain. They use thick walls, shutters on windows, external blinds and shaded streets to help people........

© The Irish Times