In April 2023, Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia and Deoria districts saw the deaths of around 200 people in a week as temperatures reached 45 degrees C and humidity touched 50%.

This created what scientists called the “wet-bulb effect”: when the air is humid, sweat does not evaporate quickly enough to cool down the body, sometimes to lethal effect.

As climate change grows more severe, scientists predict that there will be an increase in such wet-bulb conditions – which are already transforming the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in India and other parts of the world.

This fast-emerging threat to human survival is among the subjects being discussed at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference now underway in the Brazilian city of Belem. This annual event, being attended by around 200 countries, offers participants a form to negotiate measures to contain the climate crisis and develop plans to mitigate its effects.

The India Meteorological Department reported that 2024 was the country’s hottest year on record, with heatwaves affecting more than 24 states and Union territories. Rural laborers, construction workers and outdoor vendors have been among the groups most affected, being constantly exposed to the heat with little access to air conditioning or cooling shelters.

To underscore their vulnerability, the Lethal Humidity Global Council – a group of experts and leaders – is “building an evidence-based understanding of how humid heat affects people and places”, basing their research in India. The council is advocating for lethal humidity and extreme heat to be recognised in climate policy, as rising temperatures affect health, food security and migration.

Continuing the discussion on extreme heat and humidity, the United Nations Environment Programme released its Global Cooling Watch Report 2025 at COP30 on Tuesday, which details how the demand for cooling devices could more than triple by 2050 due to more extreme heat events.

This could lead to low-income households increasingly relying on more polluting and inefficient sources of energy to power cooling technologies.

The report confirms that the surging demand for such devices would double cooling-related greenhouse gas emissions over 2022 levels, pushing cooling emissions to an estimated 7.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. This is leading to rising sea levels, more frequent heatwaves and other extreme weather events.

India’s growing market for cooling devices is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7% from 2025 to 2033. The market generated revenue of $168.2 million in 2024 and is expected to reach $379.9 million by 2033.

The event at COP30 also discussed how people are being pushed into poverty as they are forced to buy cooling solutions.

“In many countries, cooling is now a necessity and people are forced to take loans,” said climate scientist Bill Hare, one of the panelists.

To overcome this, the report suggests adopting a Sustainable Cooling Pathway that could reduce emissions to 64% below the levels expected in 2050. This would amount to 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. When combined with actions aimed at reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide emissions, residual cooling emissions could fall to 97% below the standard rate

“We cannot air-condition our way out of the heat crisis, which would drive greenhouse gas emissions higher and raise costs,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme.

She added that adopting sustainable, energy-efficient, and nature-based solutions could address the growing need for cooling, while safeguarding people, food security and economies.

Some solutions mentioned in the report combine passive cooling designs such as increased ventilation and shading, low-energy systems and hybrid options of fans, evaporative coolers, hybrid fan-air conditioning systems, as well as off-grid appliances such as solar powered systems.

So far, 72 nations have joined the Global Cooling Pledge to reduce cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050 by following this Sustainable Cooling Pathway. India is not among them.

This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

Cheena Kapoor is a Delhi-based independent journalist and photographer focusing on health, environmental, and social issues.

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