Over 1 billion people struggle to stay cool

OSLO - More than 1 billion people are at risk from a lack of air conditioning and refrigeration to keep them cool and to preserve food and medicines as global warming brings more high temperatures, a study showed on Monday.

More electricity demand for fridges, fans and other appliances will add to manmade climate change unless power generators shift from fossil fuels to cleaner energies, according to the report by the nonprofit Sustainable Energy for All group.

About 1.1 billion people in Asia, Africa and Latin America - 470 million in rural areas and 630 million slum dwellers in cities - were at risk among the world's 7.6 billion people, it said.