Cover up to keep cool.

"Europe's unprecedented early summer heatwave may be responsible for hundreds of excess deaths," with 1,000 excess deaths recorded in France. "At least 74 people have drowned in France since the beginning of the heatwave, according to the Interior Minister Laurent Nunez." BBC. It is apparently because of an 'Omega Block'. "An omega block takes its name from the shape of the Greek letter omega (wikipedia) - with a bulge of warmer, settled high pressure held between two cooler low pressure systems." "Under normal conditions, the jet stream carries carries weather systems steadily from west to east. But during an omega block, that flow becomes disrupted and can buckle dramatically north and south, isolating the pressure systems." Reuters. In 2003, "the hottest summer recorded in Europe since 1540" resulted in 70,000 excess deaths. "In France, 14,802 heat-related deaths (mostly among the elderly) occurred during the heatwave, according to the French National Institute of Health." wikipedia. "Air conditioning is very rare in European homes." "While nearly 90% of US homes have air conditioning, in Europe it's around 20%." The main reason is that up until now there has been no need for AC, houses are built to keep our heat in the summer and energy is very expensive. CNN. One reason for excess deaths among Europeans may lie in their reaction to heat. They tend to take off their clothes which exposes their bodies directly to heat and sunlight. The Arabian Middle East is desert-like and temperatures can reach 55 degrees Celsius in summer. Britannica. Of course, deserts radiate heat after sunset, so nights can be pleasant. The Rub al-Khali (rub means quarter, khali means empty) in Saudi Arabia is the largest area of continuous sand in the world. Britannica. Saudi men wear an ankle-length robe of fine cotton, called thawb (Pinterest) and cover their heads with a square piece of cloth, called Ghutra (saudipedia.com). Over centuries Arabs have adapted their clothing to the weather. White reflects light, and the body, head and neck are all protected from the sun and the hot wind. "The record-shattering June heat that's baked Europe this week would have been'virtually impossible' just a few decades ago, according to a new analysis, which says the human-driven climate crisis is 'unequivocally to blame'." "A similar heatwave occurring in June 1976 would have been a startling 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed." CNN. "As of April 2026, real-time data and reports from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicate that 95 of 98 of the world's hottest cities are located in India." India is undoubtedly the hottest country in the world. "In 2016, for example, severe heat wave conditions affected Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra,  West Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat." etvbharat.com. To survive such prolonged extreme heat people need water. India is blessed with hundreds of rivers, Fed by over 5,000 glaciers. wikipedia. Alarmingly, glaciers in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush are melting rapidly (pib.gov.in) and there is nothing that the government can do to halt the process. "Water has become a struggle in the capital (Delhi), deciding people's sleep, work and daily routine." "In some areas, a family member stays at home or even skips work to wait for tankers so that water can be collected whenever it arrives." TOI. "In yet another act of unprovoked aggression against India, a Pakistani Minister threatened to 'cut off those hands' that sought to claim Islamabad's so-called share of water under the Indus Water Treaty. NDTV. Could desperate leaders of countries with citizens dying of thirst actually declare war on their neighbors? The end of the world could be nigh, indeed. Till then Europeans could adopt the Arab thawb. Cheaper than AC. No running cost.