Barely 13% Indians own an Air Conditioner, 40% face power cut for least 3 hours daily: Survey

By: Team CVoter

Amidst the ongoing heatwave across several parts of India, air conditioning turns out to be the last resort for those who can afford it, and it turns out that barely 13% Indians own an Air Conditioner. When asked the question ‘Do you own an Air Conditioner?’, nearly 87% of respondents said no and 13% said yes.

As the ongoing heatwave starts taking a deadly toll on Indians living in its northern plains, here is a worrisome statistic - a vast majority of them are neither equipped enough to cool themselves down and over the top of that they face longer power cuts.

These facts were revealed in the CVoter and Yale Climate Change Communication Survey conducted in 2023 over 2,178 respondents in India. The survey results released last month put a light on many facades of climate action and attitude towards global warming in India.

The heatwave has reportedly claimed at least a 100 lives and about 40,000 cases of heat stroke have been reported in the ongoing summer season (in the last 3 months), according to the latest statement issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Air conditioning turns out to be the last resort for those who can afford it, and it turns out that barely 13% Indians own an Air Conditioner. When asked the question ‘Do you own an Air Conditioner?’, nearly 87% of respondents said no and 13% said yes.

Conversations around India’s ongoing heatwave reveals that people are feeling that even air conditioners are not helpful enough to protect from the scorching sun.

What makes it worse is power cuts. Along with the headlines of heatwaves, the ones showing power demand reaching peaks and elongated power cuts also come as complimentary.

When asked, on average how many hours a day do they go without electricity - nearly 25% respondents said that they faced at least 5 hours a day without electricity. Nearly 19% of respondents said that they faced a power cut of 3 to 4 hours a day. About 27% of the respondents believed they went 1-2 hours without electricity.

Of the 2,718 respondents, only a quarter of them - 27% said that they did not face any power cut (or faced zero power cuts).

Air conditioning, which is being used as a ‘respite’ from the heatwave, also consumes significantly more energy which puts a strain on the existing grids. Reportedly, engineers have warned of prolonged blackouts in the coming days, the Guardian reported.