What Europe can learn from the Gulf about surviving extreme heat
The Gulf region copes with extreme summer heat through widespread air‑conditioning, traditional architectural designs that promote natural ventilation, and lifestyle adjustments that avoid the hottest hours. Governments are also investing in large‑scale greening projects and enforcing midday work bans to protect outdoor workers. Europe could consider similar strategies as it confronts increasingly severe heatwaves.
- ▪Around 80% of households in Gulf countries own an air conditioner, and cooling accounts for roughly half of peak electricity demand in the region.
- ▪Traditional Gulf architecture uses thick mud walls, shaded narrow streets, mashrabiya windows, and wind towers (barjeel) to enhance natural cooling and airflow.
- ▪Public and private spaces often provide air‑conditioned shelters, indoor tracks, and night‑time beach openings to mitigate outdoor heat exposure.
- ▪Midday work bans and mandatory breaks have been introduced in several Gulf states to protect migrant laborers from extreme temperatures.
- ▪The ‘Green Riyadh’ initiative aims to plant 7.5 million trees and create extensive parks, potentially lowering ambient temperatures by one to two degrees Celsius.
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| Original publisher | The Straits Times |
| Canonical URL | https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/what-europe-can-learn-from-the-gulf-about-surviving-extreme-heat |
| Publication time | Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:02:00 +0800 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-26T02:04:29.536Z |
| Last seen | 2026-06-26T02:04:29.536Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | eW0ycjf1MQFz |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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What Europe can learn from the Gulf about surviving extreme heatSign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inboxThe Gulf men’s traditional thobe – in the modern era usually immaculately white and pressed – is designed to reflect sunlight and, loose fitting, allows the movement of air. PHOTO: REUTERSPublished Jun 26, 2026, 10:02 AMUpdated Jun 26, 2026, 10:02 AMSet as preferred sourceListenDOHA - While temperatures in the Gulf regularly climb above 40 deg C in June, commuters waiting for the bus in Doha do so from the cool comfort of air-conditioned shelters.In Dubai, delivery drivers drop into air-conditioned rest stations for a break during the hottest parts of the day, and in Riyadh often the best place for a walk or a jog is the local shopping mall.As Europe sweats and…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Straits Times.