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Articles on Cooling

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Extreme heat can affect how well machines function, and the fact that many machines give off their own heat doesn’t help. AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar

Machines can’t always take the heat − two engineers explain the physics behind how heat waves threaten everything from cars to computers

People aren’t the only ones harmed by heat waves. The hotter it gets, the harder it is for machines to keep their cool.
Without home cooling, Phoenix’s weeks with temperatures over 110 F in July 2023 became dangerous. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change put ever more people at risk

Health and climate change researchers explain the risks and why older adults, even those in northern states, need to pay attention.
People buy produce at a wholesale market in Nakuru, Kenya, on Dec. 24, 2022. James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Installing solar-powered refrigerators in developing countries is an effective way to reduce hunger and slow climate change

Many developing nations have little cold storage and lose much of their perishable food before it gets to markets. Climate-friendly refrigeration can provide huge environmental and social benefits.
Is it better to cool your house all day, or adjust the A/C setting on your way out the door? Westend61 via Getty Images

Does turning the air conditioning off when you’re not home actually save energy? Three engineers run the numbers

Energy modeling software provides insight into whether letting your A/C relax while you’re gone all day will save you energy – and money.
The way heat and humidity affect people depends on factors like the weather that’s typical where they are. Hans Huber/Westend61 via Getty Images

Hot and getting hotter – 5 essential reads on high temps and human bodies

After the announcement of President Biden’s heat initiative, The Conversation revisits stories on high summer temperatures and human health.
Banana plantation workers in Panama find shade under a vehicle during a break. Jan Sochor/Latincontent/Getty Images

Heat waves hit the poor hardest – calculating the rising impact on those least able to adapt to the warming climate

The risk from heat waves is about more than intensity – being able to cool off is essential, and that’s hard to find in many low-income areas of the world.

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