Right to Cooling: Even heat is dividing the rich and the poor! What is the right to cooling that is being demanded?

Right to Cooling: Heat is now becoming a global inequality crisis. In the meantime, let's learn about the right to cooling.

 

Right to Cooling: Extreme heat is no longer just a seasonal problem. It's becoming a global inequality crisis. From India to Europe and the Middle East, record-breaking temperatures are revealing a growing gap between those who can protect themselves from deadly heat and those who cannot. While wealthy families enjoy the comfort of air-conditioned homes and offices, millions of laborers, slum dwellers, and homeless citizens are forced to endure scorching temperatures without even basic cooling facilities. In the meantime, let's explore the right to cooling.

 

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The right to cool reflects a growing demand for everyone to have a minimum level of protection from dangerous heat waves, including access to fans, clean drinking water, shade, ventilation, and cooling shelters.

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Extreme heat affects people in very different ways depending on where and how they live. Wealthy people live in heat-insulated homes equipped with air conditioners, while poorer communities are forced to live in cramped, tin-roofed slums or poorly ventilated rooms.

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Daily wage laborers, farmers, and rickshaw pullers are exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time. Unlike office workers who can stay indoors or work from home, these laborers are at greater risk of dehydration, heatstroke, fatigue, and long-term kidney disease.

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Many experts in India believe that the right to cooling is linked to Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and dignity. They argue that governments have a responsibility to protect citizens from life-threatening heat conditions.

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People are urging governments to build public cooling centers in cities where homeless people, laborers, and passersby can find temporary relief from the heat. They are also demanding subsidized electricity in heat-affected areas, cool-roof housing technology, drinking water points, and more greenery in cities.

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Extreme temperatures are not only creating health emergencies but are also reducing the working capacity and daily earnings of workers.