Deaths. Melting tarmac. Power outages. These are the consequences of summer heatwaves that have become more intense across India, routinely pushing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Even in the neighbouring Pakistani city of Jacobabad, the temperature earlier this year reached the level at which the human body cannot cool itself.
As temperatures soar, so too does the demand for ways to stay cool. India is expected to account for a third of all sales of air conditioners over the coming decades, according to the International Energy Agency. Ensuring access to cooling for the more than Ibn people exposed to South Asia’s extreme heat is vital for health, as well as economic and social development.
But more electricity-guzzling and greenhouse-gas emitting air conditioners risk accelerating global warming. And that is why authorities and researchers are urgently working with companies and consumers to ensure India’s demand for cooling is met with more energy-efficient methods. These can range from choosing refrigerant gases less harmful to the environment to making cleaner technologies more affordable.
“Climate change is causing longer, more intense heatwaves,” says Prima
Madan, a consultant at the environmental campaign group Natural Resources Defense Council. “There’s a need for air conditioning. But what is important here is that the increased demand will further contribute to climate change, increase pollution, and have adverse impacts on public health if it were to be met with inefficient technologies.”