CHENNAI: Heat advisories issued by the government are proving difficult for working-class communities in Chennai to follow due to lack of reliable drinking water, shade, climate-resilient public infrastructure, schools, adequately ventilated homes, and basic protection at workplaces, a community-led study found. It also noted low awareness of most Heat Impact Prevention (HIP) protocols in Vyasarpadi and Ramapuram.
While nearly 90% of surveyed residents said they knew they should drink water before feeling thirsty, only 14.3% in Vyasarpadi and 47.2% in Ramapuram knew they should stay indoors between 11am and 3pm.
The study, Future Amidst Scorching Heat: Understanding and Building Heat Resilience in Ramapuram and Vyasarpadi, covered 260 residents- 133 in Vyasarpadi and 127 in Ramapuram and includes interviews with 12 residents between late June and early August. It was conducted by the Youth Climate Resilience Movement, Vyasai Thozhargal, Palluyir and Chennai Climate Action Group.
Vyasarpadi fared worse than Ramapuram on several indicators of heat exposure and access to relief, with 94.7% of respondents reporting dehydration compared with 89% in Ramapuram. Heat-related hospitalisation was reported by 38.3% of those surveyed in Vyasarpadi and 21.3% in Ramapuram, while headaches affected 78.2% and 58.3%, respectively. Only 44.4% of respondents in Vyasarpadi said they could access doctors at the nearest primary health centre, against 73.2% in Ramapuram. Merely 1.5 to 6.3% of respondents knows 104 health helpline number.
In Vyasarpadi, public drinking-water points are available to just 13.5% of respondents, compared to 48.8% in Ramapuram, and residents said water is often unavailable during the hottest part of the afternoon. Large trees are there only in the neighbourhood of 36.1% of Vyasarpadi respondents, against 62.2% in Ramapuram.
While 86.6% of households surveyed in Ramapuram has concrete roofs, the figure is 51.9% in Vyasarpadi. Nearly one in five homes surveyed in Vyasarpadi has no window, compared to 3.1% in Ramapuram. Researchers who recorded temperatures inside houses said heat absorbed by roofs and walls during the day continued to radiate indoors even after sunset.
Nearly 39% of respondents in Vyasarpadi also said they have no shade at work, 44.8% does not get an afternoon break and 37.3% has no access to free drinking water.
Researcher Ishwarya D (18) said field workers should not be made to work between 11 am and 3 pm during periods of intense summer heat. Three other school students who were also part of the research reported overcrowded classrooms, inadequate fans, poorly maintained toilets and unsafe drinking water facilities. Some classrooms with 40 to 70 students have only two fans, they said.
The study called for neighbourhood-specific heat action plans, with more drinking-water points and shaded shelters, better bus stops, mandatory breaks for outdoor workers, improved facilities in schools, multilingual heat warnings and hospital emergency units equipped to deal with heat-related illness.