days over 95°F2005 2080CHINAINDIAS. KOREAJAPANTANZ. INDONESIAPAK.SINGAPOREAFRICAAUSTRALIAEUROPE A S IA(^181241)
5 118
24 214
0 7
1 49
Balochistan
Chowki Jamali,
Dar es Salaam
Paris, France
Rayong,
Thailand
Montefiascone, Italy
United
States
Middle
East
South Japan
Korea
European China
Union
Mexico Brazil Indonesia India Rest of
world
0
500
1,000
1,500
100
1,000
2,000
Energy use for cooling
by country/region
in billions of kilowatt hours
Per capita energy
for cooling
in kilowatt hours
2016 2050
Workforce decline
Southern Asia will be hit the
hardest. The equivalent of
43 million jobs, most in farm
labor, will be lost in the next
10 years because of the heat.
Human limits
At high temperatures our
bodies can’t shed heat fast
enough to regulate our inter-
nal temperature. Humidity also
makes sweating less effective.
A vicious cycle
Climate change boosts the
demand for cooling. Most
cooling requires burning
fossil fuels, which helps
increase climate change.
Unequal Asia
In 2016 only 4 percent of
households in India had air-
conditioning, compared with
about 85 percent in Singapore,
which is wealthier.
Up in flames
Dry shrubs and grasses make
ideal fuel for larger wildfires.
In 2019, Australia’s driest year on
record, the fire season started
early and became one of the
country’s most damaging ever.
Frequent heat waves
A study of the record 2019 heat
wave found that in France and
the Netherlands, such events
are now at least 10 times more
likely due to climate change.
TRYING TO COOL OFF
As heat, population, and incomes
rise, the International Energy Agency
projects that by 2050 the number of
air- conditioners, fans, and dehumidifi-
ers in residential buildings worldwide
will double, to over eight billion.
CHRISTINA SHINTANI, NGM STAFF. SOURCES: CLIMATE IMPACT LAB; INTERNATIONAL
ENERGY AGENCY; SOLOMON HSIANG AND OTHERS, SCIENCE, JUNE 30, 2017 THE WORLD IN 2070 61