Hot spells are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide, raising health risks and deaths. Parts of India and Pakistan are already reporting temperatures above 45°C, and the World Meteorological Organization warns of hotter‑than‑normal months ahead due to El Niño.
The study, led by Giacomo Falchetta at the Euro‑Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, analysed data from more than one million households across 28 countries and covered nearly three billion people. It finds that about 1.2 billion people live in areas with moderate cooling poverty, roughly 550 million face severe cooling deprivation, and about 600 million experience high deprivation across multiple dimensions. Falchetta explains that "cooling poverty and what we call systemic cooling poverty refers to conditions in which individuals are prevented from attaining thermal safety, not simply because they lack an air conditioner." He adds that heat risk rises when people lack adequate housing, healthcare and reliable information.
Regional patterns vary. South Asia and Sub‑Saharan Africa are most affected: almost 80 per cent of the South Asia sample live in regions where the systemic index exceeds 55 out of 100. The study highlights Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Malawi for extremely high deprivation in housing, water and sanitation, energy access and cooling green and blue spaces. It estimates about 1.5 billion people live in areas with inadequate infrastructure and health conditions to deal with heat, with more than 90 per cent of people in Ethiopia, DRC, Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia falling into this category. By contrast, Egypt scored 40 out of 100 on cooling poverty despite 82 per cent of its population being exposed to hazardous heat and humidity.
The authors and other experts warn that air conditioning alone is not sufficient or sustainable. They call for coordinated, low‑cost policies across housing, water, health, labour and urban planning. Suggested measures include:
- better housing design and cool roofs;
- expanding trees, parks and water bodies and protecting blue‑green infrastructure;
- public cooling shelters, improved water and sanitation, and efficient fans;
- heat‑health action plans and labour protections such as rest breaks.
Researchers and activists say policies must be mandatory and funded, and they warn there are limits to how much adaptation can protect people if extreme heat continues to intensify.
Difficult words
- cooling poverty — lack of safe, reliable ways to cool indoors
- systemic — relating to whole systems or structures
- deprivation — lack of basic goods, services or protections
- infrastructure — basic public services and physical systems
- expose — to make vulnerable to harm or riskexposed
- adaptation — changes to reduce harm from environmental threats
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Which of the suggested low‑cost measures (better housing, trees and water bodies, public cooling shelters, labour protections) would be easiest to start in your area, and why?
- What difficulties might governments face when making cooling policies mandatory and funded?
- How can lack of reliable information increase people’s heat risk, and what could improve that information?
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