HOW CITIES ARE KEEPING COOL?

Sydney pop-up cooling hub 

 In Seville,Spain: A shade policy,and names and categories for heatwaves

Seville is installing large awnings across streets, public playgrounds, hospital entrances,taxi stops and school grounds,with the understanding that access to shade can save lives even in pre-heatwave conditions.

The city is also planting thousands of trees as part of this effort. "We call it a policy of shade,"Antonio Mufioz said in 2022-23 during his time as the city's mayor.Meanwhile, in 2022, Seville also became the first city in the world to name and categorize heatwaves. That year, Zoe, a category 3 heat event, triggered a targeted public-health response that included free access to city pools and water parks for certain age groups.

In another long-term measure, the city is considering reviving an ancient persian technique that used underground canals to carry water across parts of the city, to cool it. In the pilot phase, there are also plans to pump this water up through shafts, to cool buildings.

In Paris:'Cool islands' and a heat zones app

Summers in Paris were so pleasant, most homes had no air-conditioning. That changed in 2003, when a deadly heatwave claimed more than 14,800 lives across France in a single two-week period(many were elderly and many died alone).

Determined that this should not happen again, the french government printed leaf-lets and posters to underline the idea that this was heat as French people did not know it. Detailed heat actions plan were framed, under which every government official has, and is accountable for,specific outreach and mitigation action.

By 2018, the municipality of Paris had begun setting up a network of "cool islands" consisting of shaded parks, pools, water fountains and misting areas.

The cool islands are mapped on the government-run Extrema heat Map app, which also alerts users during a heatwave.

In Sydney: Mobile cooling hubs

Designed by the homelessness and Heat Emergency Activation Team (HHEATeam), Sydney's mobile cooling hubs track alerts on the HeatWatch app (Developed by university of sydney). On days of extreme heat, they then make their way to areas where vulnerable communities such as the homeless are concentrated. There, they pitch tent and offer access to free oral-hydration stations, misting fans, shaded rest areas, doctors and nurses, and food.

In Ahmedabad: Heat insurance for daily-wage labourers

A quiet revolution began here, in 2023. It has since spread to 22 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Here's how it works.The trade union Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) offers "heatwave insurance" to members of the union. To sign up, they must contribute Rs. 250 a year. IN exchange, whenever temperature exceed 40 degree celsius in their region, each women receives Rs 400 in direct cash assistance, without a claim needing to be raised.

The programme is currently open to women from a range of occupations; farmers, construction workers, waste recyclers, head-loaders, sreet vendors, salt-pan workers, ship-breakers, and home-based workers. Between 2023 and 2024, the scheme accumulated 50,000 subscribers; total payout ammounted to Rs. 2.92 Crores.

The pilot project has been developed in association with the Adrienne Arsht-Rockfeller Foundation Resilience Center, the NGO climate resilience for All and the insurance providers Blue Marble and ICICI Lombard, who are also providing financial backing.