For the vast majority of Pakistanis, the brutal summer heat is not just a seasonal discomfort—it is a matter of survival, made exceedingly worse by the onslaught of load shedding. The sweltering heat, combined with long periods of outages, poses unbearable hardships for citizens, the majority of whom lack basic amenities, let alone the luxury of air conditioning. According to data from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) surveys and Gallup polls, air conditioners remain a distant luxury, owned by only about 8% of elite households in the country. The overwhelming majority of the public relies solely on basic fans and water-based air coolers to endure the brutal, scorching heat. At the regional level, the UAE provides almost 100% air-conditioning coverage to its citizens, whereas India, with a much larger population, still manages to provide 8% to 10% of its population with air-conditioning facilities.

The 8% figure for Pakistan is misleading, as it does not represent the true demographic proportions. For instance, if we isolate that elite group of 8% at the top, the situation looks much grimmer for the rest of the country: around 60% of the population survives the summer using standard ceiling or pedestal fans, whereas about a quarter of households make do with water-based systems such as desert coolers. Though cheaper to run, desert coolers lose their effectiveness during the humid monsoon season. The remaining 10%, representing the poorest segment of the population, cannot afford any cooling devices and barely survive the extreme temperatures by taking cover in the shade or sprinkling water over their........

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