20% Of South Asians At Risk Over Lack Of Access To Cooling

News Desk

Islamabad: One in five people in South Asia are at risk of serious health risks due to a lack of access to cooling and safe indoor temperatures, and it is not a luxury but a necessity for development, according to a World Bank report.

The report titled ‘Thermal Comfort and Indoor Air Quality’ stated that as temperatures rise due to climate change, the demand for cooling and ventilation is expected to increase, with large-scale energy and climate impacts.

The report focuses on buildings in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan while also covering South Asian countries including Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Air pollution accounts for nearly 20 per cent of all causes of death, and increases acute and chronic respiratory diseases among millions of people in South Asia – a region that has one of the world’s highest concentrations of black carbon. Emissions occur in the largest quantities from vehicles, stoves, agricultural uses and industries.

Most air pollution is often found in densely populated urban and industrial areas, with ozone and ammonia being different cases which are often higher in rural areas. Among the countries, 42 out of 50 cities in terms of air pollution are from South Asia.

South Asia is home to 23 per cent of the world’s population (1.9 billion people) and faces severe threats from climate change, with these impacts expected to intensify with rising regional temperatures and the severity of climate change.

Around 46 per cent of the total population has access to electricity. This, coupled with exponentially rising electricity consumption and emissions, suggests that buildings in the future will need to find ways to deliver cooling and ventilation without increasing their carbon footprint.

The report calls for urgent efforts to reduce its role in global warming as well as prepare them for higher temperatures and extreme heat by designing and constructing buildings that can adapt to a changing climate while adequately meeting the cooling and ventilation needs of the growing population of the region.

The report stated that rapid urbanisation in the region has also increased the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Understanding outdoor thermal conditions is highly relevant because they serve as the basis for all indoor thermal phenomena.

Overall, the report highlights the potential of passive measures such as improving building orientation and layout, cost-effective low-carbon cooling, and ventilation in the early stages of the design process across the South Asian region.