This Ancient Technology Is Helping Millions Stay Cool

3 comments

1. This summer, India has endured possibly its worst ever heatwave. The capital, Delhi, logged a [record high](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/heatwave-alert-these-indian-cities-surpass-50-degrees-celsius-in-2024/articleshow/110551491.cms) of 52.9 degrees Celsius (127 degrees Fahrenheit) on May 29, while India’s northern states have baked at sustained temperatures of more than [42 degrees](https://internal.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/heat_bulletin.pdf) during the daytime. Only now, as the rainy season starts, are temperatures cooling. But in the coming years, things will only get worse.

   For many, respite from the relentless heat has come from an improbable source: the earth. Special pots made from clay, when combined with water, can be used to chill drinking water and the surrounding air. 

   The cheap, low-energy evaporative cooling devices are keeping water, food, people, and even whole buildings cool across India.

   Read more: [https://www.wired.com/story/evaporative-cooling-devices-coolant-clay-matka-mitticool-india-heat-wave/](https://www.wired.com/story/evaporative-cooling-devices-coolant-clay-matka-mitticool-india-heat-wave/)

2. As long as they have enough water.

3. Good luck keeping em leak free one pot is even harder to temper so to keep em from leaking doing it on such a large scale is not that easy