The Role of Air Conditioning in Climate Change

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Air conditioning is a very strong protective mechanism for heat stress and something that should be used when absolutely required, no doubt. But our reliance upon it is actually sort of becoming a bit of a maladaptive response as we see this feedback loop which contributes further to climate change. We're going to find more sustainable ways of cooling down people without necessarily making air conditioning our first port of call.

As record temperatures spread across the world, Ian Sample sets out to understand what heat does to our bodies and what we can do to mitigate it without causing more damage to the environment. He visits Prof Lewis Halsey’s team at the University of Roehampton and learns first-hand about the body’s response to heat. He also hears from scientists Prof Jean Palutikof and Dr Aaron Bach about how we can adapt buildings and working conditions in a changing climate.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod