Editorial: Dog days see early arrival

According to officials, a prolonged dry spell that has witnessed a combination of cloudless skies, no rains and consistent dry and hot westerly winds blowing into northwest and central parts of the nation has resulted in severely hot weather conditions.

In Chennai, ahead of blazing Agni Natchathiram and Kathiri Veyil that are to begin in May, the city recorded the hottest day on March 22, with conditions resembling that of a heatwave. The Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations recorded a maximum temperature of 38° C, four degrees above normal. As per the parameters, a heatwave is declared in the coastal regions if the maximum temperature is 4.5° or higher than the normal. The phenomenon was last witnessed about a decade ago in March and since 2012, the temperature in the city has not breached the 37°C mark during this early month of summer.

The spike in temperature in Chennai was attributed to a rare cyclone that had formed in the North Andaman Sea and parts of the Bay of Bengal that absorbed all the moisture and cordoned off the cool sea breeze. However, weather phenomena aside, there are many man-made activities that have turned the city into a frying pan.

Many have pointed out to the heat trapping architecture as a causative agent. Everything from the Metro Rail construction to the creation of new residential and commercial buildings, as well as the constant release of pollutants in the form of industrial effluents and peak traffic has led to the city heating up. Weather bloggers have forecast that Chennai’s maximum temperature could hit a peak of 41°C-41.5°C this year.

For the well-heeled among us, the solutions might appear to be installing an additional air conditioner or investing in heat-proofing solutions. But for the common man or workers employed in places exposed to direct sunlight, the fallout can be lethal. Heat-related deaths are common in India as revealed by a study by the Lancet Planetary Health. Over 7.4 lakh Indians die each year as a result of climate change-induced temperature fluctuations. While health experts have advised people to restrict outdoor movement during the afternoons, it is not practical for a city where most of the work is accomplished during the day.

There are several measures that require private and government partnership to mitigate such weather phenomena. We need to ensure that drinking water is available at points of human congregation. On the private front, workers’ health must be safeguarded through the setting up of adequate restrooms and cooling sheds. The police personnel manning traffic signals will also need to be provided with enclosures.

The government will need to consider afforestation initiatives that will add to the green cover of the State. Urban local bodies will also need to develop and maintain a greater quantum of open space reservation (OSR) lands as parks. Developers of residential colonies can encourage dwellers to adopt terrace gardens and consider avenue plantations, apart from implementing cool roof concepts that can lower indoor temperature by three to seven degrees. On the citizen front, a much needed transition to electric vehicles will need to be initiated, if not considering the rising fuel prices, then at least keeping in mind the rising mercury.