Heat kills
Heat kills people. This medical fact is well known, and older people are more at risk than younger. In economically well-to-do countries such as the United States, people retreat to their air-conditioned homes, even though air-conditioning contributes to global warming and ultimately makes the problem worse. Utilities pleaded with people to turn down their air-conditioners in order to protect the power grid. Protecting the environment is rarely part of the rhetoric. In Germany as in the UK, many people do not have air-conditioning, since it is traditionally unnecessary. The wealthy can afford it. Increasingly some feel it is a luxury that they cannot to do without, even if it makes the real problem noticeably worse. The Guardian reported on 12 June 2022 that: “A study in the Lancet last year suggested that 740,000 deaths in India a year could already be attributed to global heating.” ( LINK ) Most people in India cannot afford air-conditioning, and cannot ...