Cooling down has become political amid record highs, as experts say row is distracting from work of protecting livesAs the afternoon heat rose to a dizzying 41.7C (107F) in eastern Brandenburg on Sunday, taking German temperatures to unprecedented highs, Mario, 65, took precautions but did not panic. Two years ago, a fierce heatwave had prompted him to buy a powerful device that few Germans own: an air conditioning unit.’The summers are slowly getting warmer,’ says the retired handyman in Neuzelle on the German-Polish border, whose bungalow is now among the 6% of German homes with fixed air-conditioning. ‘And as you get older, the heat gets harder to endure.’ Continue reading…