By Arun Kumar Singhal
This past weekend, I was lounging on my living room couch, unwinding with some television, when an advertisement unexpectedly caught my attention. It featured two of Bollywood’s known stars, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, promoting an air conditioner from a well-known electronics brand. As they flaunted their charisma, good looks, and acting prowess, everything seemed like just another glamorous celebrity endorsement.
And then came the moment of disbelief.
With an air of confidence, they casually announced: “Amazing features it has—this cools even at 60 degrees Celsius!”
I froze. Sixty? Did I hear that right?
It took a second to process what had just been said. Then, unable to contain my shock, I called out to my wife, “Did you hear this? They’re crazy! Where on earth will this machine be used?”
Smiling, she said, “I don’t know, but get ready for the new-age climatic conditions! God forbid this does not become a reality.”
At a time when climate activists, scientists, and global leaders are fighting tooth and nail to keep planetary temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius, an electronics giant was proudly boasting about an air conditioner that cools even at 60 degrees centigrade!
What exactly have they envisioned that makes them so casually lure customers with such claims?
This is the height of irony. While the world is witnessing record-breaking heatwaves, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events, corporations continue to push products that exacerbate the very crisis we are trying to mitigate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has repeatedly warned that even a 2-degree rise in global temperatures could have catastrophic consequences—wiping out biodiversity, making vast regions uninhabitable, and intensifying climate-induced disasters. And yet, here we are, with brands marketing cooling solutions that paradoxically contribute to the problem they claim to solve.
For decades, air conditioner advertisements have promoted cooling capabilities, typically claiming efficiency at 30 or 40 degrees Celsius. But 60? That’s an entirely different level! The irony is stark: as the planet struggles under the weight of increasing carbon emissions, the response from industries is to produce more energy-guzzling appliances that further stress our already overburdened power grids.
Air conditioners, while offering immediate relief from heat, are among the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. They rely on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases that trap thousands of times more heat than carbon dioxide. Increased AC usage not only drives up electricity demand but also accelerates climate change in a vicious feedback loop—the hotter the planet gets, the more air conditioners we use; the more air conditioners we use, the hotter the planet gets.
I recently heard Sonam Wangchuk, the renowned Indian engineer, innovator, climate activist, and education reformist, passionately plead for restraint in contributing to global warming. He strongly criticised the excessive use of air conditioning, emphasising that lowering AC temperatures from 28°C to 20°C is not just wasteful but also environmentally harmful—especially in a world where electricity remains a scarce resource in many regions.
Similarly, the late Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna, a legendary environmentalist and leader of the Chipko Movement, spent his entire life raising awareness about environmental conservation. Often referred to as the “Father of the Environmental Movement in India”, he dedicated his final breath to advocating for the protection of nature and sustainable living.
Despite the tireless efforts of such visionaries, climate scientists, and countless unnamed environmental activists, their warnings seem to fall on deaf ears. The voices of those fighting to preserve the planet are continuously overshadowed by corporate greed and capitalist interests—for whom profit-making in a crisis (“fishing in troubled waters”) takes precedence over the wisdom of sustainable living.
Those in the business of making such horrendous machines need to seriously ponder their effect on nature. What they fail to realise is this: if catastrophe strikes, no one will be spared. Climate change does not discriminate between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless. Rising temperatures, devastating floods, wildfires, and collapsing ecosystems are not distant threats—they are happening now. And yet, instead of heeding the warnings of those dedicated to protecting our future, industries continue to prioritise short-term gains over long-term survival.
The question remains: How much longer can we afford to ignore these warnings before it’s too late?
It’s a sobering thought. The real solution to rising temperatures isn’t just increasing the cooling capacity of air conditioners but tackling the root causes of global warming—shifting to renewable energy, improving building insulation, promoting sustainable urban planning, and reducing our overall carbon footprint.
As I sat there, still in disbelief, I couldn’t help but wonder: Are we cooling our rooms while simultaneously heating the planet beyond repair? Think about it!
(Arun Kumar Singhal, a resident of Doon, is an economist. He has been a social worker, an author, and a writer specialising in energy and environmental issues.)
