Can India cool down without heating up? Experts Explain why sustainability is key

Extreme heat has moved beyond seasonal discomfort to become a public health, labour and infrastructure challenge. During heatwaves, access to cooling can determine whether people sleep, work, study, recover from illness, or avoid heat stress. This matters especially for the elderly, children, outdoor workers, people with chronic illness, and those in poorly ventilated homes.

As summers arrive earlier and grow longer and more intense, India’s cooling needs are rising sharply. The question is no longer whether people need cooling, but whether India can deliver it without worsening electricity stress, air pollution, and emissions.

India’s power demand outlook

India’s peak power demand has already touched record levels this summer, rising from 252.07 gigawatts (GW) on April 24 to 270.8 GW on May 21, 2026. Much of this increase is linked to heat and growing use of cooling appliances.

Demand is expected to rise further as more households adopt air-conditioners (ACs) and heatwaves become more frequent and intense. Cooling is likely to become a major driver of peak electricity demand, particularly during hot evenings when pressure on the grid is already high.

The cooling paradox

India needs more cooling to protect people from dangerous heat, but conventional cooling can also worsen the heat problem. Cooling appliances increase electricity demand and, when generated primarily from fossil fuels, add to carbon dioxide emissions.

Cooling systems also use refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are refrigerant gases used in ACs, refrigerators, cold chains, and other cooling systems. They replaced ozone-depleting substances, but many have high global warming potential (GWP), trapping far more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2) and acting as potent greenhouse gases. If released during operation, servicing, or disposal, they can significantly add to warming.

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Under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, India will freeze HFC consumption in 2028 and reduce it in phases until 2047. Meeting this commitment will require low-GWP refrigerants, skilled technicians, and systems for refrigerant recovery, recycling, and disposal at a time when India’s cooling demand is rising rapidly.

So, the same systems that protect people from heat can also contribute to the conditions that make extreme heat more likely — that is India’s cooling paradox. This does not mean cooling should be restricted. Rather, it highlights the need for cooling solutions that are cleaner, more efficient, and accessible to all.

India Cooling Action Plan

The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), launched in 2019, sets out to expand cooling access while reducing cooling demand by 20-25% and refrigerant demand by 25-30% by 2037-38. Its strength lies in treating cooling as an economy-wide issue spanning buildings, cold chains, transport, agriculture, health, and industry.

Implementation, however, remains the challenge. Appliance efficiency and refrigerant transition are often addressed separately. What India needs is an integrated approach that connects building design, appliance efficiency, refrigerant choice, grid planning, and access for vulnerable communities.

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Efficient ACs, refrigerators and fans can reduce electricity use and lower household bills. Stronger standards and wider adoption of efficient appliances are essential, especially because inefficient cooling equipment can remain in use for many years.

But efficiency alone is not enough. If buildings trap heat, streets lack shade, and homes are poorly ventilated, cooling demand will remain high. Sustainable cooling must begin before the appliance is switched on. Better building design, cool roofs, shading, ventilation, reflective materials, and other passive cooling measures can reduce the need for mechanical cooling.

Sustainable cooling

To make cooling more accessible without increasing emissions, India needs a layered approach:

Reduce demand at source. Better urban planning and building design — especially in public housing, schools, hospitals, anganwadis, and government buildings — should target thermal comfort, not just structural safety.

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Make efficient cooling the default. Standards for ACs, fans, and refrigeration should continue to strengthen, while efficient products become more affordable for lower-income households and small businesses.

Accelerate the refrigerant transition. Low-GWP options such as R-290, R-32, ammonia, and CO2 should be adopted where technically suitable, backed by industry support, technician training, and systems for refrigerant recovery and reuse.

Integrate cooling into power-sector planning. Battery storage, demand response, time-of-day pricing, and response-enabled ACs can shift cooling load away from peak hours, easing grid stress, and reducing the need for new fossil-fuel capacity.

India should treat cooling as a core part of climate, energy, and public health policy. This means implementing the ICAP with measurable targets, strengthening appliance efficiency, accelerating low-GWP refrigerant transition, investing in passive cooling, and preparing the grid for rising cooling demand.

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The goal should not be less cooling. In a hotter India, people will need more protection from heat. The goal should be smarter cooling: cleaner, efficient, affordable, and better integrated with buildings, cities and the electricity system.

India’s cooling challenge is also an opportunity. If planned well, the country can protect people from dangerous heat, reduce pressure on the grid, cut HFC emissions, improve air quality and build a cooling economy suited to a hotter future.

Pranjali Chowdhary is senior research and policy Associate at Gateway Research Foundation, where she works on sustainable cooling, waste management, and subnational non-CO₂ assessments.

Nimish Singh is director, science, at Gateway Research Foundation. He works on air quality, emissions inventories, atmospheric modelling, and mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants.