COOLING NO MORE A LUXURY, BUT A NECESSITY

With the rise in demand of air conditioners due to heat stress, sustainable air conditioning is the way forward to bring relief to people as well as manage emissions

- Naina Gautam

Cooling is hot, particularly with India hitting summers. In fact, it is more so because cooling is a necessity and not a luxury. Remember, in a tropical country like India, heat stress can even lead to death for some. Realising and appreciating the importance, Air Conditioning Appreciation Days are celebrated from July 3 to August 15 every year.

The economic losses resulting from extreme weather events increased by 23% between 2010–14 and 2018–22 amounting to $264 billion in 2022 alone whereas heat exposure led to global potential income losses worth $264 billion, according to The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms. It adds that economic losses that are related to global heating affect livelihood, resilience and the availability of funds to deal with climate change; heat exposure effect on labour capacity is highest in the low and medium human development index countries, with “potential income losses equivalent to 6.1 % and 3.8% of their gross domestic product (GDP).

For others, it can affect the quality of life. The India Cooling Action Plan, the first of a kind, released by the Indian government, recognises that cooling impacts economic growth and is important for health, well-being and productivity. It states, “The cross sectoral nature of cooling and its use in important development sectors of economy makes provision for cooling an important developmental necessity, which can have bearing on the environment, the economy and the quality of life of the citizens of the country.”