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The 2022 analysis by Sustainable Energy for All identifies significant global gaps in cooling access, with 1.2 billion people at high risk and 2.47 billion at medium risk. The report highlights that the population at high risk increased by 28 million since 2021, driven by urbanization and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in high-impact countries.

This report section analyzes the increasing vulnerability of the urban poor to extreme heat across 54 high-impact countries in 2022, highlighting a rise in the population at high risk due to lack of access to cooling.

This report analyzes regional trends in cooling access gaps for 2021, focusing on high-impact countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It highlights an overall increase in populations at highest risk—specifically the rural and urban poor—across all regions, with the COVID-19 pandemic cited as a contributing factor to rising poverty and cooling access challenges.