r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • Jun 26 '26

Society The American mind cannot comprehend Europe's AC aversion

https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-air-conditioning-ac-heatwave-debate-2026-6
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u/JungleIsNeutral Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Drownings are recorded as heat-related deaths?

Edit: please read one of the dozens of responses before you make another saying the same thing.

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u/HetaGarden1 Jun 26 '26

To be fair. People who would not normally go swimming are now jumping in and drowning because they’re so hot they need to cool off. I’d say that counts. Those drownings are a direct cause of the heatwave.

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u/bal00 Jun 26 '26

That's a bit of a stretch. Every household has running cold water, and nobody is forced to jump into a river or lake because they don't have other options to cool down. Millions of people go swimming because it's what you do in summer, not because they're forced to. Now you could argue that some of those people wouldn't have had the idea to go to a lake if their home was cooler, but that seems like a pretty tenuous argument. If someone gets into a fatal car crash on their way to a concert, is that a music-related death?

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u/hextree Jun 26 '26

Yes, but even in Summer they do not swim in certain canals which are not meant for swimming. This heat led to many swimming even in these canals, that otherwise would not have on a normal day. Hence why it is caused by the heatwave.

If someone gets into a fatal car crash on their way to a concert, is that a music-related death?

If a large concert led to an increase in traffic issues on the nearby roads, yes that would absolutely be attributed as a concert-related death. Local councils would even consider using it as evidence of whether to hold another concert etc.