The thermal bill for abstraction is coming due — in bodies and in megawatts

Europe's heatwave became the deadliest on record: over 5,600 excess deaths by July 5, an event analysts called virtually impossible to explain without climate change. North American grids buckled on the Fourth of July. And the same story names its own accelerant: hyperscale AI data centres drawing 100–300 MW each, piling record load onto grids already at the edge. The clean alternative is winning *and* stalling — solar-plus-battery now undercuts gas in many markets, yet global solar-panel produc ...