World Environment Day 2023: How air conditioning can pose a risk to your heart and nature

World Environment Day: The 2022 surface temperature was 1.55 °F (0.86 °C) warmer than the 20th century average of 57.0 °F (13.9 °C) and 1.90 °F (1.06 °C) warmer than the pre-industrial period (1880–1900). That is, the world is warming by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit on average.

The damage caused by extreme high temperatures is now happening in different parts of the world. Extreme heat waves affect more than 1.5 billion people in Pakistan and India. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21, 24% of households in India have air conditioners or coolers.

The exact number of deaths due to the heat may not be known for weeks, but it has resulted in power outages, water shortages and other problems.

A large part of Western Europe is also experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40 °C or 104 °F each year.

These are the latest in a string of scorching summer days. In the 1800s, a heat wave occurred only once every 10 years; Heat waves are now five times more frequent and reach higher temperatures than fifty years ago. Summer records are broken so often that it rarely makes the headlines.

Air conditioner hazards for human heart

Millions of people need to be quiet today and in the future, even if humanity acts together and dramatically reduces emissions of the greenhouse gases that are warming the world. This is one of the most urgent technical and policy issues as their lives and livelihoods are at risk.

Therefore, when a person leaves a place with a low ambient temperature, the body does not have enough time to adjust to the higher outside temperature because the temperature in the air-conditioned space will be 15–20 degrees higher than the surrounding air.

Dr. Sudha Desai, Consultant Physician, General Physician and Internal Medicine, at Ruby Hall Clinic, shares more about how air conditioning can be fatal.

“Sweating is the primary means of keeping pace with the changing seasons, prolonged exposure to air-conditioned environments dries out the skin and makes sweating more challenging. The elderly, the young, diabetics and those who use diuretics are particularly susceptible.” These temperature changes weaken the process of sweating,” says Dr. Sudha.

Having AC constantly on reduces fluid intake, especially in hot regions, where fluid is needed when there is a change in temperature.

After riding a motorbike during high temperatures, you’ll likely find your friends or co-workers arriving with symptoms including headache, heavy sweating and fatigue.

In fact, city hospitals are seeing an increasing number of people addicted to air conditioning with heat-related illnesses. This is because people who are used to living in air conditioning will sweat excessively, which can lead to rapid dehydration.

Two to five persons suffering from “heat exhaustion,” “heat pyrexia,” and “heat stroke” are being treated in hospitals, Dr. Sudha said.

The Dilemma of Air Conditioning and Climate

Coolness isn’t limited to humans. The production, storage and transportation of food, medicine, technology, and, as Carrier discovered, books all depend on refrigeration and freezing. According to the IEA, if things stay as they are, AC energy consumption will triple by 2050, which is almost the same amount of electricity consumed by China now.

Another natural law is that you cannot cool one place without simultaneously heating another. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in urban areas, nighttime AC use can increase outside temperatures by about 1°C (1.8°F).

Prevention and cooling strategies for the environment and humans

for the planet

Technology by itself is insufficient. Millions of people still work outside while ACs are effective only indoors. Planning is essential for ensuring adequate shade and using strategies such as cool roofs to reduce outdoor air temperatures.

Worker schedules that keep employees out of the sun during the hottest times of the day are essential for many businesses. In some places, night time is the only time suitable for outdoor labor, so it may be taken with adequate facilities to cover it.

for the heart

To reduce the temperature difference, set the air conditioner at 27 to 28 degree Celsius. Wear loose cotton clothes so that your body can cool down when you sweat. Take breaks when in the sun to avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.

Protect your head from the sun’s rays. Drink plenty of fluids and water. Fluid consumption, which is needed when the temperature changes, especially in hot climates, is reduced in an environment with constant AC.

Thus, even though billions of people experience increasingly destructive and harsh summers, preserving nature and the environment and limiting global warming to the greatest extent benefit everyone on Earth. Unfortunately, air conditioning is now a necessity, but it also presents an opportunity to correct some of the fundamental imbalances caused by climate change.