With heatwaves around the world likely to become more frequent, some sun-scorched regions are adapting their cities to cope.
On a trip to Dubai a few years ago, I was shown a new outdoor shopping street that had apparently been carefully tuned to the desert climate. It was presented as a novel concept for this indoor shopping mall-addicted nation, designed in the manner of a pedestrian precinct familiar to those in less arid climes. A breeze wafted along the pavement, and I wondered what clever environmental design allowed the street to feel so much cooler than the rest of the sweltering city.
"Outdoor air conditioning," came the answer. Sure enough, between each shop unit, rows of jets were busy pumping processed icy air out into the 40Cheat. Meanwhile, around the back of the block, generators spewed out hot exhaust air, making other streets even more insufferable for those outside the chilled private precinct.
As temperatures soar across the world, with London expected to feel like Barcelona by 2050, and Madrid set to be like Marrakech, there is a danger that outdoor AC units could soon become just as ubiquitous as the patio gas heater the colossal emissions of both accelerating the extreme weather that they are designed to mitigate.
Air conditioning is almost uniquely power-hungry, and its use is only set to grow. The US expends as much energy on it each year as the UK uses in total, while during a recent heatwave in Beijing, half of the city's power capacity was going on AC. As hot, developing nations become more prosperous, and prosperous nations become hotter, the International Energy Agency estimates that the energy spent on air conditioning will triple by 2050-a growth equivalent to the current electricity demand in the US and Germany combined.
So how can we adapt our buildings, streets and public spaces to cope, without further heating our planet in the process?
Denne historien er fra July 22, 2022-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 22, 2022-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
Well, that's that then. In the event there were only two notes of jeopardy around Fifa's extraordinary virtual congress last week to announce the winning mono-bids, the vote without a vote, for the right to host the 2030 and 2034 football World Cups.
AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible
I recently had the opportunity to see a demo of Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool, which was released in the US last Monday, and it was so impressive it made me worried for the future.
With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope
Last week, time collapsed. Bashar al-Assad's fall recalled scenes across the region from the start of the Arab spring almost 14 years ago. Suddenly history felt vivid, its memories sharpened. In fact it no longer felt like history.
TV
The Guardian Weekly team reveals our small-screen picks of the year, from the underground vaults of post-apocalyptic Fallout to the mile-high escapism of Rivals
Albums
Murky love stories, nostalgic pop and an in-your-face masterpiece captured our critics' ears in 2024
Film
Visual language, sound, light and rhythm are to the fore in the best movies of the year
Hidden delights Our 24 travel finds of 2024
Guardian travel writers share their discoveries of the year, from Læsø to Lazio
'It's really a disaster' The fight to save lives as gang war consumes capital
Dr James Gana stepped out on to the balcony of his hospital overlooking a city under siege. \"There's a sensation of 'What's next?'. Desperation is definitely present,\" the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said, as he stared down at one of scores of camps for displaced Haitians in their country's violence-plagued capital.
Trailblazers The inspiring people we met around the world this year
From an exuberant mountaineer to a woman defiantly facing the guns of war, here are some of the brave individuals who gave us hope in a tumultuous 2024
Votes of confidence
From India to Venezuela and Senegal to the US, more people voted this year than ever before, with over 80 elections across the world. With rising authoritarianism and citizen-led resistance revealing its vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, has democracy reached its breaking or turning point?
