The global dominance of air conditioning was not inevitable. As recently as 1990, there were only about 400m air conditioning units in the world, mostly in the US. Originally built for industrial use, air conditioning eventually came to be seen as essential, a symbol of modernity and comfort. Then air conditioning went global. Today, as with other drivers of the climate crisis, we race to find solutions – and puzzle over how we ended up so closely tied to a technology that turns out to be drowning us. ike the aqueduct or the automobile, air conditioning is a technology that transformed the world. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of independent Singapore, called it “one of the signal inventions of history” that allowed the rapid modernisation of his tropical country. In 1998, the American academic Richard Nathan told the New York Times that, along with the “civil rights revolution”, air conditioning had been the biggest factor in changing American demography and politics over the previous three decades, enabling extensive residential development in the very hot, and very conservative, American south. What fuelled the rise of the air conditioning was not a sudden explosion in consumer demand, but the influence of the industries behind the great postwar housing boom. Between 1946 and 1965, 31m new homes were constructed in the US, and for the people building those houses, air conditioning was a godsend. Architects and construction companies no longer had to worry much about differences in climate – they could sell the same style of home just as easily in New Mexico as in Delaware. The prevailing mentality was that just about any problems caused by hot climates, cheap building materials, shoddy design or poor city planning could be overcome, as the American Institute of Architects wrote in 1973, “by the brute application of more air conditioning”. As Cooper writes, “Architects, builders and bankers accepted air conditioning first, and consumers were faced with a fait accompli that they merely had to ratify.”

Equally essential to the rise of the air conditioner were electric utilities – the companies that operate power plants and sell electricity to consumers. Electric utilities benefit from every new house hooked up to their grid, but throughout the early 20th century they were also looking for ways to get these new customers to use even more electricity in their homes. This process was known as “load building”, after the industry term (load) for the amount of electricity used at any one time. “The cost of electricity was low, which was fine by the utilities. They simply increased demand, and encouraged customers to use more electricity so they could keep expanding and building new power plants,” says Richard Hirsh, a historian of technology at Virginia Tech.......read on    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/29/the-air-conditioning-trap-how-cold-air-is-heating-the-world?utm_term=669b7c9b284338df7675c1da8c2bd3df&utm_campaign=TheLongRead&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=longread_email

Record-breaking heatwave shifts east as millions of Americans under heat alert. Over 245 million Americans are expected to experience 90F temperatures early this week, with some as high as 105F Guardian Michael Salinato   Sun 14 Jul 2024  A heatwave that impacted the US west coast over the past week is now moving east into the midwest and south-east, as millions of Americans have been under a heat alert at some point in the past week.

“Numerous near record-tying/breaking high temperatures are possible over the central High Plains and Southeast Sunday, and along much of the East Coast by Monday,” reported the National Weather Service.Cities on the east coast such as Baltimore and Washington DC will experience temperatures up to 100F (38C) this Tuesday. Temperatures in the west are expected to fall to typical summer averages.New York City is expected to experience temperatures as high as the mid-90s on Tuesday, with a forecasted heat index between 95-100F (35-38C) from Monday to Wednesday. while some areas around the city could expect a heat index of up to 105F (40C).  p in mind that the elderly, small children, people on medication, or with weight or alcohol problems are most susceptible to heat related stresses,” cautioned the National Weather Service ahead of the heatwave shifting to the east. “This is especially true during a heatwave in areas where a more moderate climate prevails, such as Wisconsin. It’s a good idea to periodically check in with those most susceptible to the heat and help them obtain relief from the extreme heat and humidity.” June 2024 was the hottest month of June on record and the 13th consecutive hottest month on record, with 14.5% of the world’s surface reporting record heat, beating June 2023 by 7.4%. Keep in mind  the US have been reported so far in July 2024, which is likely an underestimate due to the time it takes for investigations into deaths to be completed.   

How worried should we be about the climate? We asked every expert we could Every day we interviewed the world’s leading climate scientists about the state of the world. These experts are increasingly alarmed, terrified about the future and furious their warnings continue to be ignored.For a one-of-a-kind reporting project, we set about trying  to measure just how worried they are. Environment editor Damian Carrington contacted 843 senior authors of recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN’s expert body. The high number of responses we received – 380 – reflected the strength of their alarm. Close to half of the scientists  anticipate at least 3C of global heating, a cataclysmic prospect.        https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/14/us-heat-wave-moves-east   

 India’s deadly heat kills over 200 people, including dozens of poll workers as elections wrap up. One state reported 45 deaths in a single day as heatwaves continue. The Independant  Stuti Mishra- Asia Climate Correspondent 03 June 2024 Over 200 people, including dozens of workers on election duty, have died in the last few days in India as the country continued to reel from the cascading impacts of heatwaves. At least 50 deaths have been reported in just the last 72 hours with the total tally for heatstroke-related deaths now standing at 211. Out of these 50, at least 33 were workers stationed on election duty who died on Saturday when India was conducting the seventh and last phase of its mammoth six week long elections. Most of these people were working as home guards, sanitation workers, and other poll staff. Election duty is compulsory in India for public sector employees. Election duty is compulsory in India for public sector employees. They’re assigned by the election commission before polling begins. A voter also died at a polling booth in the Sikandarpur area of Ballia city during the polling. The election commission of India has been criticised for not taking the heatwave warnings in consideration while planning the national elections with close to a billion eligible voters. Voters have been coming out in searing heat without any preparations made to protect them. In earlier phases, voters have complained of discomfort and local media reported several people fainting in heat. India’s heatwave has been brutal this year, with temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius in Delhi, prompting a water and electricity crisis. Dozens of heatwave related deaths have been reported in recent days from different states. The eastern state of Odisha was the hardest hit and reported 45 deaths in a single day Heatwave days across India have increased by 125 per cent in May, a record jump compared to normal, impacting a billion people, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. “This could be the worst summer in the last 120 years, at least for north India,” Vimal Mishra, professor of Earth Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar, told news agency PTI.,,,,,read on.....https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/india-heatwaves-deaths-election-2024-b2555692.html?lid=a3rblbxvo1o6&utm_medium=email&utm_source=braze&utm_campaign=Climate%20Newsletter%2004-06-24&utm_term=IND_Climate_Newsletter       

And it's Happening Golabally..........The May global surface temperature was 1.18°C (2.12°F) above the 20th-century average of 14.8°C (58.6°F), making it the warmest May on record. This was 0.18°C (0.32°F) above the previous record from May 2020. May 2024 marked the 48th consecutive May (since 1977) with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th-century average. May had a record-high monthly global ocean surface temperature for the 14th consecutive month. El Niño conditions that emerged in June 2023 were replaced by ENSO-neutral conditions during the past month, and according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center La Niña is favored to develop during July-September (65% chance) and persist into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2024-25 (85% chance during November-January). The Northern Hemisphere also ranked as the warmest May on record at 1.44°C (2.59°F) above average. The Northern Hemisphere land temperature was also record warm in May (tied with 2020) and the ocean temperature was again record-high by a wide margin (0.25°C/0.45°F warmer than the previous record set in 2020). The Arctic region had its 11th warmest May on record. May 2024 in the Southern Hemisphere also ranked warmest on record at 0.92°C (1.66°F) above average. The ocean-only temperature for May in the Southern Hemisphere ranked highest on record, while the land-only Southern Hemisphere temperature was 6th warmest on record. Meanwhile, the Antarctic region had its 23rd warmest May, 0.55°C (0.99°F) above average. A smoothed mapof blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies is also available......there's more, and check out the heat maps      https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202405 .......and...... Mexico’s deadly heat dome is coming for the US