Office air conditioning has been too attractive to ignore. The new heat wave hitting Europe has been record-breaking, claiming victims and causing major damage. This month (July 2022) the UK reached the highest temperature in history, according to the Met Office. The thermometers outside London’s Heathrow airport marked 40.2°C. France, Portugal, Spain and the United States have also been suffering from the heat.

According to data compiled by Google and published by Bloomberg, about 60% of people working in the City of London — where the British capital’s offices are centered — were at their desks when temperatures peaked. That means more people than usual at the workplace. 

But how prepared companies are to deal with the problem? Even if British buildings, for instance, have air conditioning systems, many are struggling to operate due to the intense heat. 

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) points out that the increase in frequency, duration, and intensity of these events in recent decades is clearly linked to the observed global warming and can be attributed to human action. 

It is past time to react. Heatwaves create an opportunity for air-conditioned office spaces to become much more attractive places to be, provided investors and building managers improve their sustainable climate controls. 

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Source: Bloomberg | G1 | Investment Monitor