If global temperatures rise by two degrees Celsius, the number of days with “uncomfortably high temperatures” in Austria will increase by 25 percent, researchers from the University of Oxford report in the journal “Nature Sustainability”. The need for cooling is growing accordingly – Austria is among the ten countries with the highest percentage increase in the world. “These countries are dangerously unprepared for this change,” the researchers said.
A team led by Jesus Lizana of the University of Oxford’s “Future of Cooling Program” calculated how much additional local cooling would be needed if the “Paris target” of 1.5 degrees of warming were not met, but instead reached two degrees Celsius.
Extreme temperatures, many days with a need for cooling
The most extreme temperatures would then prevail in Central Africa. “The people of Africa then bear the brunt of a problem they didn’t create,” the scientists explained. The However, the largest relative increase in the number of days with cooling needs on a two-degree-warmed globe will be experienced by people in previously cooler parts of the world: Ireland leads with a 38 percent increase ahead of Switzerland and Britain (30 percent each). ), Norway, Finland and Sweden (28 percent each), Austria (25 percent), Canada, Denmark and New Zealand (24 percent each).
“Cooling degree days” as an indicator for cooling days
For their calculations, the scientists used what they call a ‘commonly used indicator’ for quantifying the cooling requirement, so-called ‘cooling degree days’. Celsius). According to this, for example, a day with an average outside temperature of 30 degrees Celsius has twelve CDDs.
Austria is “dangerously underprepared”
In particular, the top ten of the countries identified in the study are traditionally set to heating in winter and not cooling in summer, according to the researchers. “Currently, the buildings there are greenhouses: they have no external blinds, no windows that can be darkened from the outside, no natural ventilation and no ceiling fans,” says Lizana. If you change the building structures, you can reduce the additional need for air conditioning.
vicious circle of the climate crisis
“Without proper sustainable cooling measures, we will see a sharp increase in the use of energy-hungry systems such as air conditioning,” explains Radhika Khosla (also from Oxford University). This could lead to a vicious circle: if fossil fuels are used for cooling, greenhouse gas emissions increase and global warming accelerates. Sustainable measures for cooling are neglected in the climate adaptation strategies of the countries involved, the researchers criticize in the broadcast.
“Global cooling promise” – will it be possible to fulfill it?
The scientists stressed that the publication is a conservative estimate and does not take into account extreme events such as heat waves. These would haunt people in addition to the calculated average increase. They will brief attendees at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai in early December about where they plan to develop a “Global Cooling Pledge.”
“To mitigate these effects, it is essential to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius,” they say. Whether the promise to cool down and the “Paris goal” can be fulfilled or met will probably only become clear in the coming years.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
