Europeans are increasingly buying Chinese-made air-conditioners as more frequent and severe heatwaves make homes difficult to live in, particularly in countries where domestic cooling has traditionally been uncommon. The demand matters because newer portable split units can avoid drilling and therefore suit European housing and historic-preservation rules, but wider use also raises concerns about electricity demand, emissions and urban heat.

Midea says its sales in France, Spain, Germany and the UK rose by more than 70% year on year, although it did not confirm the figure directly to the BBC; TCL reported sales up over 300% in France, while Gree reported stronger summer demand. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with German temperatures exceeding 40C, and France’s extreme heat closed hundreds of schools. Air conditioning uses about 7% of global electricity and is linked to 2.7% of global fossil-fuel and industrial CO2 emissions, yet France’s power utility has pledged €80m to add cooling in schools and community facilities.