Germany Sets New 41.7C Record as Share of Air-Conditioned Homes Remains at 6%

Temperatures in eastern Brandenburg reached 41.7C on Sunday, setting a new national record for Germany. The weather station in Coschen provisionally broke the previous mark during the heatwave. Only 6% of German homes have fixed air conditioning.

In Neuzelle, retired handyman Mario, 65, installed a unit two years ago after an earlier heatwave. "The summers are slowly getting warmer," he said. " More than 200,000 people died from heat across Europe in the last four years, according to World Health Organization estimates.

The current heatwave is projected to produce a death toll in the thousands or low tens of thousands. Marc Bernhard, construction spokesperson for the Alternative für Deutschland party, said his party would prevent people from being "sacrificed on the altar" of mainstream climate ideology such as energy efficiency ratings.

" Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France has also made air conditioning a focus while opposing policies aimed at limiting planetary warming.

In Italy and Spain, more than half of households now have air conditioning, while the share in France has reached 24%. The Guardian reported that Europe burns fossil fuels for less than 30% of its electricity and that more than a dozen countries plan to phase them out of power grids within a decade.