Why Doctors Are Considering Air Conditioning as Essential Medicine

In recent years, the world has seen a sharp increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves. For most people, a hot day is an uncomfortable inconvenience. However, for those with chronic illnesses or the elderly, extreme heat can be a matter of life and death. According to MedPage Today, an emergency physician recently shared a personal story about their mother, who struggled to stay safe during a heat wave in Northern California. When her air conditioning failed, she became trapped in her home with temperatures reaching dangerous levels. This experience highlights a growing concern among medical professionals: how to protect the most vulnerable people from a warming planet.

There is a specific temperature range that is safe for the human body. When temperatures rise above this "Goldilocks zone," the risk of illness and death increases significantly. MedPage Today reports that extreme heat can lead to heat stroke, a condition with a very high mortality rate. Furthermore, heat often makes existing health problems much worse. People living with diabetes, dementia, or heart, lung, and kidney diseases are particularly at risk. Because of this, heat-related deaths in the United States rose by 117% between 1999 and 2023.

Not everyone faces the same level of danger. Vulnerability to heat is often linked to both biology and social factors. MedPage Today notes that the elderly, pregnant women, and young children are physically more susceptible to heat. However, environmental factors also play a major role. Low-income households are often at a much higher risk than wealthier ones. For example, the report points out that certain neighborhoods in New York City are twice as vulnerable to heat-related illness as others just a few blocks away. Marginalized ethnic and racial groups also face a higher risk of suffering during these extreme weather events.

This reality has led some doctors to propose a new idea: treating air conditioning as a medical prescription. Just as doctors prescribe medicine to control blood pressure or help with asthma, they argue that air conditioning should be covered by insurance to prevent heat-related deaths. The evidence for its effectiveness is strong. MedPage Today reports that the widespread use of air conditioning in the United States is estimated to have prevented nearly 48,000 deaths among elderly Americans in 2019 alone. Between 1990 and 2004, the chance of dying on an extremely hot day dropped by 80% in the U.S., largely because more people had access to cooling technology.

Despite these clear health benefits, air conditioning presents a difficult dilemma. It is an environmental challenge because most units use refrigerants that are powerful greenhouse gases—gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Additionally, air conditioning requires a large amount of electricity, accounting for nearly one-fifth of home energy use in the United States. It can also make the "urban heat island effect" worse, which is when cities become much hotter than surrounding rural areas because of buildings and pavement that trap heat. By trying to cool our homes, we may be making the outdoor environment even hotter.

Looking ahead, the challenge will be to balance the immediate need for life-saving cooling with the long-term need for a healthy planet. As heat waves continue to hit countries around the world, the conversation is shifting. In Europe, recent record-breaking heat waves resulted in thousands of excess deaths, many of which occurred in homes without cooling. This has forced authorities to reconsider how they protect citizens during summer months. While air conditioning is currently a powerful tool to save lives, experts suggest that society must find ways to make cooling more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Until then, doctors and public health officials will continue to advocate for better access to cooling for those who need it most to survive the changing climate.