Cool Stops, Cooler Roofs: Ahmedabad’s Blueprint for Surviving a Fiery Summer

Image Source: Knocksense

While India is experiencing its worst-ever heatwaves, Ahmedabad is set apart with low-cost, innovative solutions to shield its people from killer temperatures. With the mercury rising to well above 42°C (107°F) weeks ahead of the normal peak summer period, the city's innovative measures are providing crucial respite.

Major Highlights:

Reflective Paint for Dwellings: Hundreds of low-income homes with tin roofs have been painted with solar-reflective white paint. The easy solution can lower indoor temperatures by as much as 5°C, keeping homes notably cooler and more habitable. Residents who used to evacuate their sweltering homes during the day now spend the day indoors, with the paint's titanium oxide base reflecting sunlight away rather than absorbing it.
Bus Stops under Mists: Ahmedabad also has introduced "cool bus stops," equipped with straw mats and high-pressure misting installations. These stops bring down the temperature by 5–7°C, providing commuters, and more so senior citizens and day laborers, quick relief at peak sun times of the day. The facility will be increased at more bus stops to cover thousands of daily transport commuters.
Heat Action Plan: The steps form part of Ahmedabad's pathbreaking Heat Action Plan, instituted after a killing heatwave struck in 2010. The plan integrates public outreach, emergency planning, and out-of-the-box cooling methods and has set a precedent for other South Asian cities confronting analogous climatic situations.

Ahmedabad's model-a combination of easy technology with social action-reveals the ways in which cities can gear up to confront excessive heat and protect vulnerable people as climate change gets more ferocious.

Sources: AP News, The Better India, Global Nation Inquirer