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Source: The post is based on the article “Global warming will cause conditions beyond human tolerance — this will impact homes too” published in The Times of India on 1st April 2023.
Syllabus: GS 3 – Climate Change
Relevance: about the impact of clime change on homes
News: The article discusses the impact of climate change on homes.
What are some of the impacts of climate change on homes?
Indoor house temperature is often two to three degrees below the outside temperature, especially in tropical countries.
In the coming future, the indoor temperature is expected to rise to 36 to 38 degrees which is beyond human tolerance levels.
Further, the designs used for building homes are neither climate resilient nor good for health.
When building homes, high density and the number of units are preferred over the health advantages associated with climate adaptive building.
How can houses become climate resilient?
In warmer countries like India, natural ventilation can play a key role because there isn’t a sharp difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures.
Roshan Daans, the traditional windows can also reduce heat slowly and intelligently.
Vertical greening is also beneficial; however, it should not be used in places with high humidity.
People also install exhaust fans on windows, leaving little space for ventilation. Hence, buoyancy driven ventilation will be needed to lower heat.
It is also necessary to understand local climatic conditions before building houses. For example, tropical nations mustn’t mimic the tall glass building model which comes from very different climatic zones.
Further, factors like ease of using the technology, accessibility, awareness of co-benefits, affordable maintenance, etc. are responsible for adopting any climate resilient technology at homes.
However, any such technology would also require social acceptance.
As per a study, it was found that women in India are reluctant to use air conditioners for themselves. In India, women didn’t take many energy decisions independently, rather they are mostly dependent on males of their families.
It was also found that despite temperatures over 30 degrees, women were not using air conditioners for themselves. Women suffer more than males from heat, which has a negative impact on their health and well-being.
Thus, approval across all genders and social classes is required for a climate resilient technology to succeed in the market.
What can be the way ahead?
Sustainability 1.0 gave materials which are low carbon value chain systems. But Sustainability 2.0 means thinking about people-centric metrices like the acceptability indices of technology.
Thus, engineers involved in developing such a kind of technology should also study the interaction between technology and society and understand people’s aspirations and constraints.
It will enable industry to help communities navigate climate change better within their homes.
