> they simply haven’t needed it until the last few years

Correct, and that's all there is to it. And once there's a general acceptance on the continent that global warming has permanently pushed summer temperatures into the danger zone, people will start installing aircon. It's a shame, but it's a direct consequence of the damage that humanity has done to our planet.

I'm very glad that I live somewhere where even now, it almost never gets hotter than 25°C.