UK demand for air conditioners is soaring, as weather once considered extreme becomes the new normal. Chinese manufacturer Gree, one of the world’s biggest air-conditioner makers, told the BBC that it had seen “noticeably stronger demand this summer”, including many first-time buyers. “The increasingly frequent and prolonged summer heatwaves have clearly changed consumer attitudes.”

What are the main types?
Air conditioners don’t actually make cold air; they move heat from inside a room to outside. An indoor unit is connected by refrigerant pipes to an outdoor condenser.

A wall-mounted split system suits one room or an open-plan area. A multi-split system can work in several rooms, with the one outdoor unit serving several indoor ones. Ducted central air conditioning units – rare in the UK but more common in countries such as the US – cool the whole home. A portable unit (with internal refrigerant pipes) can be moved from room to room (and house to house).

Which are suitable for different homes?
Portables are good for renters, and homes where permanent installation isn’t allowed. Some units can be loud enough to disturb sleep; it can be worth looking for ones with sleep modes that reduce fan speed and noise.
A split system is quieter, cheaper to run, and much more effective. Many split systems are also air-source heat pumps, meaning they can provide highly efficient heating in winter as well.

Air conditioners with higher British Thermal Unit ratings (and therefore higher output) are better suited to larger spaces, while lower-rated models are best for smaller rooms.

How much do they cost to install and run?
It depends on what you choose, how often you use it, and the size of your home. A single-split wall-mounted system in one room will cost between £1,500 and £3,000 to install, and up to 40p per hour to run. A multi-split system set up in as many as five rooms will cost £3,000 to £7,000 to install, and cost between 20p and 80p per hour to run. A ducted system over your whole home would cost between £8,000 and £20,000 to set up, with running costs varying widely. Portable units will set you back between £250 and £700, and typically cost 20p to 50p per hour to run – and they don’t come with an installation fee.

“I’m sorry, but I’m unable to speak,” Sonam Wangchuk has told supporters and medics in Delhi, after 20 days of hunger strike.

The well-known activist is “adding momentum” to student-led protests in India, said The New York Times. Instigated by the “joke” Cockroach Janta Party, Wangchuk’s protest began when India cancelled its national medical college entrance exams after the questions were leaked, and several students reportedly killed themselves at the prospect of retakes. He’s demanding “the reform of a soul-destroying education system”, said The Guardian.

‘Severe starvation’
Wangchuk is “one of India’s best-known public figures”, said The Independent. The mechanical engineer from the Himalayas has dedicated decades to educational reform and creating sustainable technologies for mountain communities. In 2018, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, “described as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize”. His involvement in the CJP movement “transformed” a student-led protest into a “national issue”, attracting public figures from across India.

Doctors warn that he has reached a state of “severe starvation” and “extreme weakness”, said The Guardian. He is unable to walk to the bathroom without support, and “speaks little to conserve energy”. Concern for his condition is “mounting” as temperatures reach 37C, and sweat “pours down” protesters’ faces. “A useless fan by his mattress does nothing to relieve the suffocating humidity.”

‘Defiant yet humorous’
More than 1,800 public figures signed a statement urging Wangchuk to stop his strike, which he has “firmly rebuffed”, said India Today. He is demanding “accountability for the failures” of the education department, and the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.

A petition has been filed in Delhi’s high court to “take him to a government hospital and force-feed him”, said the BBC. Yesterday, the government informed the court that it would “intervene if his health deteriorated”. But Wangchuk continues to strike a “defiant yet humorous note”, said The Times of India. He told supporters he would “stay alive by any means” until 20 July, when the next parliamentary session begins, “so that I can march to Parliament with all of you” – or “I’ll come back as a ghost!”

Villagers collect spring water in bottles in Banten, the westernmost province of Indonesia. People there are struggling to access groundwater after a prolonged dry season and extreme drought, partly caused by the El Niño weather pattern. 

Bay Ismoyo / AFP / Getty Images

East Sussex: Tawny Pipit, Pett Level
Handsome modern house in a magical setting by the beach and Pett Level Preservation Trust land. Redesigned from an earlier structure by the wildlife and landscape artist Annie Soudain and her husband, John. 4 beds, 2 baths, kitchen-dining room, recep, studio, garden, parking. £1.195 million; Phillips & Stubbs.

Pembrokeshire: St Catherine’s House, Tenby
A magnificent Grade II house built between 1843 and 1846. The property boasts panoramic sea views and steps down to the golden sands of Castle Beach. The lower level is a flexible space that could be used as secondary or letting accommodation. 8 beds, 4 baths, kitchen-dining room, 3 receps, garden, parking. £1.5 million; Country Living.

Isle of Wight: St Winifreds, Totland Bay
An imposing property with mock‑Tudor cladding, next to one of the island’s finest beaches, with magnificent views over The Solent and Christchurch Bay. 7 beds, 5 baths, kitchen-breakfast room, 3 receps, cinema, garden, parking. £1.775 million; Knight Frank.

Fife: The Granary, Leven
A penthouse flat at Elie Harbour, with uninterrupted views across the Firth of Forth. 4 beds, 3 baths, open plan kitchen-living-dining room, snug, parking. OIEO £1.295 million; Rettie.

UK is no longer a friend of Israel – and under Burnham, we may become a foe
Stuart Polak in The Jewish Chronicle
Keir Starmer chose to “appease” backbenchers “consumed with an irrational hatred of Israel”, writes Stuart Polak of the Conservative Friends of Israel. Rather than standing “with our ally”, his government supported “those trying to destroy it”, and that “helped fan the flames of anti-semitism” in the UK. Starmer “leaves an indelible stain on our foreign policy” as he moves out of No.10. “And with Andy Burnham pledging to double down”, things may get worse.

It’s men’s fault that women’s health is so bad
James Kirkup in The Times
Many health conditions “hit” women “harder” than men but, given the lack of outrage and action, it’s difficult “not to think” this would be “taken more seriously if” the toll were greater on men. Research suggests closing the gender gap in “health-related inactivity” could boost our economy by “at least £30 billion”. More male politicians need to acknowledge this. “If the health of half the population has been neglected”, it’s because “the other half haven’t paid enough attention”.

If you have been listening to Suella Braverman and think Britain has gone bonkers, let me explain
Nels Abbey in The Guardian
Britain is “not what it used to be”, writes Nels Abbey, founder of the Uppity debate forum. “We lost ‘our’ empire”, “lost our sense of identity”, and now some of us have “lost our minds”. Suella Braverman thinks “nations once enslaved” by Britain should “pay reparations to Britain” for “the ‘good’ imposed on them”. Nigel Farage (due to “battle” with “a dustbin-themed superhero”) claims the police “treat black people better than white people”. Our politicians have “descended into a comedy troupe”.