While driving to a meeting yesterday afternoon my Google navigation suddenly stopped. My Android phone showed a message saying, “your device needs to cool down”. I had to wait for 15 minutes under the hot sun with outside temperature close to 45˙C for the navigation to start again. I am not sure whether it was the outside heat or some problem with the Google’s Map App, but it forced me to think, “what if the current high temperatures in most parts of India become a norm and we witness a few weeks of intense heat wave conditions every summer”?
There have been multiple cases of air-conditioners malfunctioning in the past couple of weeks, causing fire in premises and loss of precious lives. Almost all cities and towns are reporting disruption in power distribution due to breakdown in transformers and cables, caused by excessive heat and overloading. On enquiry, I found that there has been a sharp rise in cases of breakdown in household electrical appliances like refrigerators, microwave ovens, air-conditioners, washing machines due to voltage fluctuation, over-heating and short circuits. (see here, here and here)
Over 25,000 deaths have been reported from many states due to heatstroke, dehydration, and other related illnesses during the past three months. (see here)
Most hill stations in north India are reporting massive influx of tourists causing a breakdown of local infrastructure and excruciating traffic jams. (see here)
Massive forest fires have been reported from Himalayan states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of hectares of precious forests have been lost in these fires. (see here)
If I look around my ambience, I find that we would need to implement hundreds of changes in our lifestyle, infrastructure, technology, and practices, to adapt to a situation where a 3-4 weeks heatwave condition becomes a norm over the next few years.
For example, consider the following—
· Energy efficient air-conditioners, which have become more popular these days, may not be effective in a consistent temperature above 45˙C. Most air-conditioners may need to be replaced.
· Power distribution infrastructure, especially transformers and cables, would need an overhaul to undertake much higher peak load and consistent high atmospheric temperature. Household electric cables may also need a redesign to make them more heat resistant.
· Footwear and clothes would need a redesign to suit high temperatures. Maybe office dress codes would also need reconsideration to allow less formal clothing during summers.
· Overhead water tanks (mostly plastic) are a popular method of water storage across India. High temperatures over 45˙C may lead to significant loss of stored water due to evaporation. We may need to redesign the civic water supply and household water storage systems.
· There are a number of colonies and markets in most Indian cities where fire tenders cannot reach at all, or can reach with considerable difficulty and time loss, in case of a fire. Fire safety systems for such areas may require a complete rethink.
· Building designs would need to factor in consistent high outside temperature. Definition of the energy efficient buildings may need suitable modification.
· The resistance training for school going children to make them tolerant to consistently high temperatures may be required.
· Our food habits may need to change to incorporate foods and drinks which help build resistance against outside heat and keep the body cooler from inside.
· The healthcare system would need to equip itself to handle a larger number of emergencies due to heatstroke and related illnesses.
· The cases of skin cancer due to excessive exposure to UV rays may rise materially. We may need to take effective preventive measures to mitigate this disaster.
· Adequate infrastructure and safety arrangements would need to be deployed to curb frequent forest fires. More urban forests would need to be planned to control excessive heat.
· Tourism management in hill states would need a complete rethink, including restricting the number of tourists.
· Feasibility of implementing day-light saving and differential office timing for various departments needs to be explored. Office and school hours may start early in summers, and some departments may consider working from late in the evening.
· Entire public transport may need to become air-conditioned. The frequency of public transport during late evening and night hours may need to increase.
This all is besides the need to substantially augment the water and electricity supply to meet the enhanced needs of people and businesses.
It would be a good idea to send a team of experts to UAE, Saudi and Some African countries to learn how they manage to live with consistent high temperatures.
Some readers may like to reject this thought as paranoia and current high temperature as aberration. Maybe they are right. But what if?
