Why in News: In June 2025, the GoI proposed mandatory 20–28°C operating range (default 24°C) for all new ACs, sparking debate on cooling as a public health necessity and climate adaptation need, not just an energy efficiency issue.
Current Challenges
1. Low Access in India
- Only 13% urban and 1% rural households owned ACs (2021).
- National average ~5%; richest 10% own 72% of all ACs.
2. Global Divide
- AC ownership: 90% households in U.S./Japan vs 6% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Per capita cooling energy: U.S. = 28× India.
- North frames cooling as adaptation; South is asked to treat it as mitigation.
3. Public Health Impact
- WHO: 489,000 heat deaths (2000–2019); India >20,000.
- Shortages in thermally secure housing, power supply, and public health facilities.
- 12–15% hospitals in South Asia/SSA lack electricity.
4. Labour Productivity
- 80% of the workforce (agriculture, construction, vending) exposed to heat stress.
- Heat Action Plans exist but are weakly implemented.
Way Forward
- Universalise cooling access as a development right, not luxury.
- Invest in public cooling infrastructure: shelters, powered health facilities, cold chains.
- Strengthen Heat Action Plans with funding, legal backing, and inter-agency coordination.
- Promote energy-efficient technology alongside international finance transfers from the North.
- Link cooling to labour rights, social safety nets, and climate justice.
Conclusion
Cooling in the global South is no longer comfort—it is a non-negotiable right for survival, health, and climate resilience.
UPSC Relevance
- GS Paper 3 (Environment & Economy): Climate change adaptation, energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure.
Mains Practice Question
Q. “Cooling is no longer a matter of comfort in the Global South, but a frontline adaptation need. Discuss the inequities in cooling access in India and suggest measures to make it both sustainable and inclusive.” (250 words)