As the world warms and heat waves become more frequent and more dangerous, people turn up the AC.

隨著世界變暖，熱浪越來越頻繁，也越來越危險，人們都把空調開得很大。

It's very effective at cooling buildings and the people inside them.

它能非常有效地為建築物和建築物內的人降溫。

But air conditioners are also power-hungry appliances with a small unit in a single room using more electricity than four fridges.

但是，空調也是耗電大戶，一個房間一臺小型空調的耗電量比四臺冰箱還多。

There are currently around 1.6 billion air conditioners in the world and that number is expected to triple by 2050, where 10 new units will be installed every second for the next three decades.

目前，全球約有 16 億臺空調，預計到 2050 年，這一數字將增加兩倍，在未來三十年中，每秒鐘將安裝 10 臺新空調。

At that point, emissions from powering all that air conditioning could be as high as 2 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, about the same as India produces now.

到那時，每年空調的二氧化碳排放量可能高達 20 億噸，與印度現在的排放量差不多。

This is the ever-accelerating feedback loop of air conditioning.

這就是空調不斷加速的反饋迴路。

Higher temperatures lead to more AC.

溫度越高，交流越多。

More AC drives ever-higher temperatures.

更多的交流電推動溫度不斷升高。

And while this cycle continues, people will suffer from the ill effects of extreme heat.

當這種循環持續下去時，人們就會受到酷熱的不良影響。

It isn't only about the immediate danger of death or illness during a heat wave either.

在熱浪中，死亡或疾病的直接危險也不僅如此。

Higher temperatures can make air quality worse and chronic conditions flare up.

氣溫升高會使空氣質量惡化，慢性病也會復發。

Some studies suggest our thinking and decision-making is more sluggish when it's hotter.

一些研究表明，當天氣較熱時，我們的思維和決策會更加遲鈍。

Extreme heat can leave people poorer too, as working hours shrink and infrastructure like roads and power become unreliable.

酷熱也會使人們更加貧窮，因為工作時間縮短，道路和電力等基礎設施變得不可靠。

One way to address the problem is to simply build a better air conditioner.

解決這一問題的方法之一就是製造更好的空調。

There are UN-backed initiatives to improve the efficiency of AC so it uses less power and produces fewer pollutants.

在聯合國的支持下，有一些倡議旨在提高空調的效率，使其使用更少的電力，產生更少的汙染物。

But rather than betting on new or better tech, it's also possible to change our approach to cooling and comfort.

但是，與其把賭注押在新技術或更好的技術上，不如改變我們的製冷和舒適方法。

Humanity lived without air conditioning for much of its history.

人類歷史上大部分時間都沒有空調。

Some of the most charming aspects of ancient cities, from Mediterranean courtyards to narrow city streets, are actually ingeniously engineered cooling measures that either block out direct sunlight or use cool stones and plants to keep the nearby air pleasant throughout baking afternoons.

從地中海庭院到狹窄的城市街道，一些古城最迷人的地方實際上都是巧妙設計的降溫措施，這些措施或是遮擋陽光直射，或是使用涼爽的石頭和植物，讓附近的空氣在整個炎熱的午後都保持怡人。

The picturesque white villages of southern Spain have partly been painted that way because light colours absorb less heat.

西班牙南部風景如畫的白色村莊，部分是因為淺色吸收熱量較少而被塗成這樣的。

This often went alongside ways of living that were adapted to the hot weather.

這往往與適應炎熱天氣的生活方式相伴而生。

Taking a siesta meant avoiding work during the hottest periods of the day.

午睡意味著避免在一天中最熱的時段工作。

Those who traditionally lived in the desert wore looser, lighter clothing, like robes.

傳統上生活在沙漠中的人穿著寬鬆、輕便的衣服，就像長袍一樣。

Placing a wet towel on the head or neck is common in India.

用溼毛巾敷頭或脖子在印度很常見。

Simply ensuring you know of a cool place to move to during intense heat, like a basement or shaded room, can also help.

只需確保您知道在酷熱時可以轉移到涼爽的地方，如地下室或陰涼的房間，也會有所幫助。

Our predecessors also developed some clever cooling technologies.

我們的前輩還開發了一些巧妙的冷卻技術。

Step wells, an ancient technique that builds small pools of water into a structure, often deep underground to cool adjacent areas, have long been common in India.

階梯井是一種古老的技術，通常是在地下深處的結構中建造小水池，為鄰近地區降溫。

While across the Middle East, striking towers called wind catchers that direct cool air towards buildings have been used for centuries.

而在整個中東地區，被稱為 "捕風塔 "的醒目高塔將冷空氣引向建築物的做法已經沿用了幾個世紀。

More recently, people have relied on electric fans to circulate cool air, which use very little electricity.

最近，人們開始使用耗電量極低的電風扇來循環冷空氣。

Including efficient ceiling fans in buildings would go a long way to reducing the quantity of air conditioning used.

在建築物中安裝高效吊扇將大大減少空調的使用量。

Many of these approaches are called passive cooling measures because they don't consume energy, but in a sense air conditioning created a different kind of passivity.

其中許多方法被稱為被動冷卻措施，因為它們不消耗能源，但從某種意義上說，空調創造了一種不同的被動性。

It allowed people to design frighteningly inefficient buildings and cities full of sealed, all-glass skyscrapers and concrete surfaces and simply cool them down with AC.

它讓人們可以設計出低效得嚇人的建築和城市，這些建築和城市充滿了密封的全玻璃摩天大樓和混凝土表面，只需用空調降溫即可。

Reversing this mistake for a warming world requires an active approach.

要扭轉這一錯誤，就必須採取積極的方法。

Designing buildings, cities and reconfiguring our daily lives to ensure we can deal with overheating before it happens and treat air conditioning as a last resort.

設計建築、城市和重新配置我們的日常生活，以確保我們能夠在過熱發生之前進行處理，並將空調作為最後的手段。

Fortunately, greener, more carefully built spaces for living should have other benefits, from the savings that come with efficient homes to the health and well-being effects of plentiful green space and safer outdoor temperatures in towns and cities.

幸運的是，更環保、更精心打造的生活空間還能帶來其他益處，包括高效住宅帶來的節約，以及城鎮中豐富的綠地和更安全的室外溫度對健康和幸福的影響。

Like the climate crisis itself, cooling is a global challenge.

與氣候危機本身一樣，降溫也是一項全球性挑戰。

An Oxford University study showed that if average global temperatures missed the 1.5 degree target set by the Paris Agreement and hit 2 degrees, nations already facing heatwaves, like those in Central Africa, will see the most extreme temperatures.

牛津大學的一項研究表明，如果全球平均氣溫達不到《巴黎協定》設定的 1.5 度目標，達到 2 度，那麼像中非這樣已經面臨熱浪的國家將迎來最極端的氣溫。

But northern countries could see the biggest jump in the number of uncomfortably hot days, days when people will need additional cooling.

但是，北方國家不舒服的高溫天數可能增加最多，人們需要額外的降溫。

In Switzerland and the UK, for instance, that number will go up by 30%, the biggest increase globally.

例如，在瑞士和英國，這一數字將增加 30%，是全球增幅最大的國家。

The researchers warned that these countries are dangerously unprepared, with their homes and cities built with a very different climate in mind.

研究人員警告說，這些國家沒有做好危險的準備，它們的房屋和城市在建造時考慮到的氣候非常不同。

In the UK, homes are built like greenhouses, one of the lead researchers said.

首席研究員之一說，在英國，住宅就像溫室一樣。

Air conditioning is incredibly convenient, but it would be a disaster for the climate if it continues to be the worldwide remedy for rising temperatures.

空調給人們帶來了極大的便利，但如果全世界都繼續用空調來解決氣溫升高的問題，那將是氣候的災難。

The goal must be to turn air conditioning into a technology of last resort, using the clever green solutions of the past and adapting the way we live and work in a hotter world.

我們的目標必須是把空調變成最後的技術，利用過去巧妙的綠色解決方案，調整我們在更熱的世界中生活和工作的方式。

Transcription by ESO. Translation by —

轉錄：ESO.翻譯