Air Con — And it Might Just Be

A study by Japanese researchers had found that “air conditioners dump enough heat into the streets to raise the temperature at least 1 to 2ºC.” and not only that, but, “heat blasting from the rear-ends of air conditioners is contributing to the "heat island" effect that makes cities hotter and their weather sometimes more severe.” The lab coat guys go on to explain that for extra two degrees of warmth on summer’s day Tokyo drawns down on 1.6 gigawatts of electricity — equivalent to the output of one-and-a-half nuclear power plants. A researcher at Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University in New York notes that the heat island effect of cities is not well appreciated. But it can impact the local weather, in places like Dallas and Atlanta, effectively assisting more violent thunder storms, as a result of the supercharging of storms by city heat. The solution? Maybe more AC free office buildings like this cleverly designed one in Mexico. ::News in Science.