How to keep cool

During the summer there was  a bit of a political argument going on in France about air con .Air con is not generally the norm here as opposed to countries where use is much higher, such as 88% usage in the USA.

Those of us in old stone houses with shutters and tiled floors often generally manage quite well without because of the way these houses are built, to withstand the heat . Thick stone walls and tiled floors and the use of shutters / closing all windows during the day are the traditional way of managing the heat. This however may not apply in countries normally not geared up to regular hot summers , such as the U.K. and cities where standard / newer houses / flats are not built accordingly. This means that managing heat in traditional ways may be harder or not as effective , and with rising temperatures , for people in offices and cities managing heat becomes a real issue. This is potentially a vicious circle where efforts to keep cooler because of rising temperatures due to climate change may be exacerbating the issue. Unfortunately most types of air con work simply by pumping the hot air outside so imagine how much hot air would be released in a city. Paris actually banned air con during the Olympics in order to meet their greener credentials. 

There are plenty of studies about how greening cities can help cool the streets, and insulating buildings can help keep out heat as well as the cold , but finding green alternatives to air con or greening air con itself ( solar powered maybe ) should be on the agenda as temperatures rise.

There are lots of tips on the internet and social media such as using ceiling fans , placing wet sheets in front of fans, but being too hot at night is no joke.