In a Warming World, 10 Air Conditioners Are Sold Every Second
More than 2 billion people globally are expected to buy cooling appliances in the coming years, complicating the energy transition.
Air conditioner units on the exterior of a residential building in Madrid, Spain.
Photographer: Manaure Quintero/BloombergA warming world is making the need to stay cool more pressing. Hot countries are getting hotter, tipping normal summer temperatures into dangerous territory more frequently. Temperate countries are experiencing heat waves that were once unthinkable.
Globally, an estimated 1.2 billion rural and urban poor are at risk because they currently lack access to cooling, including refrigeration and air conditioning, according to a 2022 report by the research group Sustainable Energy for All. Meanwhile, 2.4 billion middle-class people are “on the brink” of buying the most affordable cooling appliance available to them, the report found, regardless of its efficiency.