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People didn’t “used to be fine” without air conditioning during heat waves in the U.S. - a lot more people *just died*. According to this study, air conditioning has cut heat deaths in the U.S. by around 80% since 1960. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

We’ve largely forgotten that major mortality from extreme heat in the U.S. before air conditioning used to be just…normal.

I suspect some of that is climate change. That is, we forget how far *north* Europe is; most places would never hit 80 degrees regularly even when I was raveling there 30 years ago; a 100-degree day in New Hampshire when I was a kid was *very* unusual and summer nights could get pretty cold.

So yes, a lot of places were OK absent a/c in the past, but that isn't going to be true anymore.