doin a wellness check on my British comrades
In Europe, most buildings are relatively well insulated and use materials with a high thermal mass. So the building itself can soak up a lot of heat during the day and radiate it out during the night. In North America you see a lot cheaper construction out of lumber and drywall instead of brick and cement, and with modest insulation.
In North America, a brief heat wave is immediately noticed and requires a lot of work by the A/C system. In Europe, you can tolerate a heat wave lasting up to a couple days. But weeks on end? Your buildings will heat-soak and at that point it starts to work against you. Your air conditioning will run all day and all night because now the insulation and thermal mass is acting like an oven, keeping the interior warmer than the outside.
Thermodynamics has not changed in recent years. There has not been any change to the fundamentals about A/C generally taking a lot of energy to run. It is just slightly complicated because of the need to factor in the building and neighborhood in which the A/C is operating.