India’s heatwave is one of many that hit this year. Temperatures of 40C (104F), in many parts of the country, have made millions more susceptible to heat-related illnesses, decimated crops, and caused a power crisis that disrupted schooling.
India is not the only one suffering. Pakistan, a neighbor, is also experiencing scorching temperatures. This is even before summer has begun. And before Western Australia won the title, central South America was also the hottest place on Earth.
As heat waves continue to rise around the globe, and temperatures soar unseasonably early, countries face the challenge of how they can live with this climate crisis.
It all comes down to wealth, preparedness
You have limited options: air conditioning, cooling with fans, or working indoors. These options can increase your electricity bills.
“The story of Climate Change is one of high inequality, and we’re already witnessing that playing out in the poorest and hottest areas of the globe,” Tamma Cartleton, assistant professor of Economics at the University of California’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, stated.
Carleton co-authored A 2022 StudyThis boiled down to two key factors that determine a city’s ability reduce deaths in extreme temperatures. The number of hot days it experiences and its wealth.
Money determines which technologies a city can afford in order to protect its most vulnerable. Carleton states that when these adaptation costs don’t get covered by the state, the responsibility falls on individuals to fund their own protection. This situation leaves the poorest in the dust.
Even wealthy cities can be affected if they are not prepared. This happened in the US’s Pacific Northwest, a wealthy region known as its temperate climate. More than 100 people died in last year’s heat wave.
“We tend to see in our projections of climate change into the future that poorer places are going to be facing a really large increase in death risk and wealthier places are going to see an increase in adaptation costs, said Carleton.
Heat waves are particularly dangerous for outdoor workers
Spurring into heat action
The danger of death in developing countries is very high. This was evident when Ahmedabad (a city in Gujarat state west India) lost more than 1,344 people to the heat of 47C (116F) in 2010.
The city was moved by the death toll. The city developed a plan in 2013 to prevent heat-related deaths of around 1,100 people each year. According to a study.
It is the first South Asian heat action plan. It includes an early warning system and community outreach to vulnerable groups. Also, it educates health staff about possible heat exposure. It also provides cooling centers in temples and malls, as well as reduced or staggered work hours for outdoor laborers.
Since the Ahmedabad heat plans has been used as a template to create similar models in 23 of the country’s 28 states, because India’s temperature consistently exceeds the baseline in spring/summer months,
However, high temperatures continue to make these models vulnerable to climate change, according Polash Mukherjee (Lead for Climate Resilience and Air Pollution at the Natural Resources Defense Council’s India Program). The non-profit was instrumental in the development of Ahmedabad’s heat action program.
“The focus has shifted significantly in the last couple of years from merely protecting human health and mortality against extreme heat to more proactive measures, said Mukherjee. “These include changing the building regulations so that new constructions are more insulated and the cool roofing program.
Cool roofs is a low-cost way to lower indoor temperatures. It primarily targets poorly insulated houses in slums, where informal workers and other vulnerable people live. The roof becomes more reflective and absorbs heat when it is coated with lime-based whitewash or whitetarp.
Cool pavements and green passages
Ideas like these are budding around the world. Cool pavements were introduced by Tokyo, Japan’s capital, using thermal-barrier technology. Medellin, Colombia, has created “green corridors,” vegetated passages that provide shade in public spaces. Toronto, Canada offers grants to help people install cool or green roofs.
Some cities have heat officers who coordinate the response to rising temperatures.
Eugenia Kargbo was Africa’s first heat officer after she took up the post in Freetown (Sierra Leone). Her goal is to provide shade coverings for reflective markets that protect women who sell produce outdoors. She also introduced a tree-planting program that allows planters to collect micro-payments through an app. This will make the capital more accessible.
“This is the future I envision for my children and all the children in Freetown: A safe environment not limited by the risk of extreme heat, she told DW’s EcoAfrica.
Concentrate on the climate crisis
While some regions may find ways to reduce the heat waves’ effects, scientists insist that governments must not forget the main cause of rising temperatures: the climate crisis.
Aditi Mukherji, who co-authored the water chapter in the IPCC’s assessment on “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, says the onus to come up with solutions shouldn’t be on the most affected, who historically have emitted the least amount of CO2.
She stated that she believes that high-emitting countries should immediately reduce their emissions and stop burning fossil fuels when dealing with heat extremes.
Edited By: Tamsin W. Walker
