Keeping cool saves thousands of lives yearly, but at a cost of worsening global warming, experts say

Air conditioning saves more than 5,000 lives annually in the United States by protecting people from dangerous temperatures, according to scientific experts. However, the widespread use of cooling systems comes with significant environmental and infrastructural drawbacks.

Experts note that air conditioning simultaneously warms the planet and places a heavy burden on electrical grids. This dynamic creates a compounding challenge as global temperatures continue to rise and severe heat waves increasingly impact nearly every continent, according to United Nations officials.