- Australia's most decorated Olympian McKeon retires from swimming
- Far-right candidate surprises in Romania elections, setting up run-off with PM
- Left-wing candidate Orsi projected to win Uruguay election
- UAE arrests three after Israeli rabbi killed
- Five days after Bruins firing, Montgomery named NHL Blues coach
- Orlando beat Atlanta in MLS playoffs to set up Red Bulls clash
- American McNealy takes first PGA title with closing birdie
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as angry fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns Washington
- Uruguayans vote in tight race for president
- Thailand's Jeeno wins LPGA Tour Championship
- 'Crucial week': make-or-break plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Israel, Hezbollah in heavy exchanges of fire despite EU ceasefire call
- Amorim predicts Man Utd pain as he faces up to huge task
- Basel backs splashing the cash to host Eurovision
- Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift
- Italy Davis Cup winner Sinner 'heartbroken' over doping accusations
- Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round
- Japan coach Jones abused by 'some clown' on Twickenham return
- Springbok Du Toit named World Player of the Year for second time
- Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday
- Mbappe on target as Real Madrid cruise to Leganes win
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south
- Australia coach Schmidt still positive about Lions after Scotland loss
- Man Utd 'confused' and 'afraid' as Ipswich hold Amorim to debut draw
- Sinner completes year to remember as Italy retain Davis Cup
- Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
- Lukaku keeps Napoli top of Serie A with Roma winner
- Man Utd held by Ipswich in Amorim's first match in charge
- 'Gladiator II', 'Wicked' battle for N. American box office honors
- England thrash Japan 59-14 to snap five-match losing streak
- S.Africa's Breyten Breytenbach, writer and anti-apartheid activist
- Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
- Breyten Breytenbach, writer who challenged apartheid, dies at 85
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for Grand Slam
- Truce called after 82 killed in Pakistan sectarian clashes
- Salah wants Liverpool to pile on misery for Man City after sinking Saints
- Berrettini takes Italy to brink of Davis Cup defence
- Lille condemn Sampaoli to defeat on Rennes debut
- Basel backs splashing the bucks to host Eurovision
- Leicester sack manager Steve Cooper
- IPL auction records tumble as Pant, Iyer break $3 mn mark
- Salah sends Liverpool eight points clear after Southampton scare
- Key Trump pick calls for end to escalation in Ukraine
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for a Grand Slam
- Davis Cup organisers hit back at critics of Nadal retirement ceremony
- Noel in a 'league of his own' as he wins Gurgl slalom
- A dip or deeper decline? Guardiola seeks response to Man City slump
- Germany goes nuts for viral pistachio chocolate
Heatwave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning
A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning.
AC exhaust units are a common feature of urban landscapes in many parts of Asia, clinging like limpets to towering apartment blocks in Hong Kong or tucked in a cross formation between the windows of a building in Cambodia.
They offer relief from temperatures that have toppled records in recent weeks, with many countries in the region hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or higher.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heatwaves.
Only 15 percent of homes in Southeast Asia have air-conditioning, according to a 2019 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
But that figure obscures vast variations: ranging from around 80 percent installation in Singapore and Malaysia, to less than 10 percent in Indonesia and Vietnam, the IEA said.
Forecasts suggest that higher temperatures and better wages could see the number of air-conditioning units in Southeast Asia jump from 40 million in 2017 to 300 million by 2040.
That would stretch local electricity capacity, which is already struggling under current conditions.
Myanmar is producing only about half the electricity it needs each day, with the junta blaming weak hydropower because of scant rains, low natural gas yields and attacks by its opponents on infrastructure.
Thailand has seen record power demand in recent weeks, as people retreat indoors to cooled homes or businesses.
Air-conditioning is already responsible for the emission of approximately one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the IEA, out of a total of 37 billion emitted worldwide.
Still, cooling options like air-conditioning are a key way to protect human health, especially for those who are most vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat: children, the elderly and those with certain disabilities.
With demand surging, dozens of countries last year signed up to the United Nations' Global Cooling Pledge, a commitment to improve the efficiency of air conditioners and reduce emissions from all forms of cooling.
Some countries have been trying to reduce the impact of cooling for years.
Since 2005, Japan has encouraged office workers to ditch ties and jackets so air conditioners can be kept at 28 degrees Celsius.
The annual "Cool Biz" programme took on new significance during power shortages in 2011 following the shutdown of nuclear plants after the Fukushima disaster.
A.Gasser--BTB