Why are so many NRIs missing India amidst heatwaves in Europe?

Indian summers being excessively hot has always been a recurring theme of complaints for a long time. Heat waves, humidity, population density and long periods of heat waves usually are the most common topics discussed during the summer period.

However, while the world is facing heat waves, many Indians residing outside India are expressing something which they probably never anticipated – they miss India.On social media, Indians residing in parts of Europe have been talking about experiencing unusual amounts of heat, residing in houses without air conditioners and adjusting themselves to the weather which their infrastructure could not handle. It is no longer a debate of whose climate is hotter but of another kind altogether – preparedness for heat.There are unusually high temperatures being recorded in Europe, where many countries are experiencing extremely hot climates and even certain parts are reaching the 40 degrees Celsius mark. There have been various heat warnings issued in different countries as the heat affects their transport, services and lifestyle.For Indians living in countries like Germany and others in central and western Europe, one surprising challenge has been the absence of cooling systems that many people in India may take for granted.

Whereas in India, even non-air conditioned households are able to deal with the summer heat through the use of ceiling fans, table fans, coolers, or sometimes all three. In Europe, houses have always been built keeping in mind cold weather rather than heat. This has led to many houses being built without needing any air conditioning.

Thus, there has been a certain form of culture shock for Indians living abroad as online discussions by expatriates mention the search for portable air cooling appliances and that finding these becomes a problem when there are sudden hot spells.It is not that Europe has never faced hot weather before; southern countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece have long faced hot summers. However, in central and northern Europe, hot weather has not been frequent, and many buildings have always been made for retaining heat in cold weather.However, many of the same qualities become an inconvenience in heat waves. Buildings that work well in the winter because of their well-insulated nature will make it difficult for the occupants to keep the building cool in extremely high temperatures.The lives of people in these areas have been impacted in a number of ways. There have been transport disruptions in Europe due to the high temperatures recorded in the region. Travel warnings have been issued in certain European countries during extreme temperatures.It turns out that living in such heat is something that many Indians outside India are used to.Indian cities are definitely facing extreme heat and heat waves are a source of worry for many in terms of health. However, decades of dealing with the heat in India has led to many changes in lifestyle and infrastructure development.What they seem to miss is familiarity, knowing how to live with heat.