Cooling access gaps by income group

Chilling Prospects tracks global cooling access gaps among 76 countries, including 54 high-impact countries and 22 countries not considered high impact, but with high-temperature regions. It disaggregates the data by income group, which is strongly influenced by energy access levels.

The rural poor are those living under the international poverty line and who lack access to electricity and services provided by cold chains in rural settings, while the urban poor similarly live below the international poverty line. While they may have some access to electricity, housing quality is likely to be poor. Their income may not be sufficient to purchase or run a fan.

The population in high-temperature environments living on less than USD 10.01/day but outside of poverty are the lower-middle income. Those living in high-temperature environments between USD 10.01 and USD 20.01 are the middle income. (see: Risk indicator criteria)