Air conditioner (AC) sales are growing steadily in Bangladesh thanks to increased demand from the country’s upper middle-class, modern offices and factories as consumers seek to escape hotter summers.

A friend once said “air conditioning is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity” and this statement cannot be truer than in the context of Bangladesh, where rising temperatures have made summer months near unbearable.

Jamuna AC sales have increased by 37 percent, which is higher than any previous period, in the first quarter of this year.