India and Pakistan heatwave is ‘testing the limits of human survivability,’ expert says

[Paitoo]

We need more building like these which are more suitable for our local climate. Unfortunately we have gone full retard with glass buildings which are heat traps.

LUMS Lahore:

IIM Ahmedabad

Construction needs to be more spread out. Tall buildings = more temptation to use glass to make it look good, more air conditioning and more heat from AC exhaust. A vicious cycle that needs to be broken.

 

[Wiler87]

India's forest and tree cover increased by more than 1,500 sq km between 2019 and 2021, taking the country's total forest area to 80.9 million hectares.

There is a Consistent improvement of Green Cover over India. Year on Year.

 

[-=virus=-]

Make your homes like they did in the olden days with tall ceilings

Very true, but unfortunately, aaj kal.. apart from the really wealthy (for the most part), people pick houses in these modern urban developments.. some of which are very nice in every way imaginable.. full power backup, skorti, lifts, manicured lawns, a clubhouse and pool/gym.. the works..

but puranai zamanai waali havelis ki baat hi kuch alag thi.. some friends have ancestral houses and family living in Rajasthan, and man.. those places actually stay relatively cool even in the scorching heat.. oldschool cooler ya ceiling fan se kaam chal jaata hai summer mein. One is completely comfortable with no need for ACs etc.

 

[Pindi Boy]

Weather's been good since past couple of days

 

[Wiler87]

‘This Is What Keeps Our Sustainable Bengaluru Home Cool in Summers & Warm in Winters’​

Deepika V and Kumar BS ensured that every aspect of their home is eco-friendly and sustainable and built it out of mud and Chapadi stone.

For Kumar BS and Deepika V, based out of Bengaluru and software engineers by profession, despite living in the metropolitan city where skyscrapers rise tall, a mud house held a different kind of fascination.

Speaking to The Better India, Kumar says, “We were never interested in living in a contemporary house. We were always inspired by our ancestors’ home and decided to build our eco-friendly home with mud and stone.”

A sustainable plot in a city of high rises​

Once set on the idea of a sustainable home, the duo went headlong into researching various ways to make the plot greener. In the process, they learned about the importance of using eco-friendly materials, and how it could go a long way in reducing the carbon footprint they left behind on the Earth.

Wishing to perfect the home, they reached out to architects who specialised in this area of construction. “Under the guidance of acclaimed architect Sathya Prakash Varanashi — the man behind ‘Sathya Consultants’ which has been practising eco-friendly and cost-effective architecture for the past 28 years now — we were briefed about the materials that would be needed. Once certain about it, we began the execution with labourers. Despite having no background in the area of civil construction, we undertook the task and today can proudly say that there is so much that we have learned,” notes Kumar.

Taking viewers through a visual journey of the home, Kumar explains its various aspects.

As you enter the home, a whiff of mitti will greet you. The duo has gone to the very basics and employed the use of mud to build the walls. They have used stones for the roof and foundation and lime for plastering walls.

They have also used oxide flooring as it is an ideal fit for warmer climes and makes the house equipped to deal with rising temperatures, such as those that the city is experiencing.

Going through the living room, you will see how cement blocks have been replaced with mud blocks in the architecture. Beautiful terracotta hanging lights take the aesthetic of the home up a notch.

While you marvel at the roof, the ground too has been laid keeping the sustainable angle in mind. Chapadi stones have been used for a stepped footing foundation and also in parts of the walls to enhance the natural look and feel of the home.

Other alternatives of natural tiles, such as Kadapa, Shahabad, Kota, and slate have also been used in the flooring plan. These durable flooring tiles prove to be weather-resistant and are easy to maintain.

You will notice something different in the layout. In contrast to the modern-day ‘pillar construction’, the sustainable home has a load-bearing structure. This architectural style involves the use of more economical materials; along with being simple and highly solid.

There are French windows that let the air circulate, and provide room for cross ventilation throughout the day. The courtyard is situated in the east-facing direction with tall glass ventilation.

The windows are further supplied with natural handmade Korai grass rollers. These have a special characteristic of not absorbing heat despite the surrounding temperature says Kumar, and thus make for great alternatives to usual panes.

Take a minute to admire the decor that has been made with recycled pine wood. This includes the doors, furniture, etc. “This has reduced the cost of the interior by 50 per cent,” remarks Kumar.

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Take the stairs which have been built with thick granite stone in contrast to the customary concrete. The restroom, too, has been constructed with slate stone while the kitchen has wall cladding.

As you step out onto the roof, you will notice that the construction sees a filler slab in an attempt to reduce the use of reinforced cement concrete. In addition, Mangalore tiles are a beautiful addition.

Almost 90 per cent of the home has exposed walls without plastering and pointing.

Along with a solar water heater, the family has also set up a rainwater harvesting system that harvests 10,000 litres which fulfils the needs of four people for three months. “This rainwater harvesting setup without individual bore well reduces the water bill by 40 per cent per year,” says Kumar.

On the terrace, the sustainable approach continues. The family believes in compost preparation and uses this technique to grow their plants and vegetables.

Their terrace garden is abundant in seasonal produce.

The family also has a natural dish wash system that they have set up.
The duo began constructing the house in July 2019 and completed the 2600 square feet marvel by January 2021. Due to the uniqueness of the construction, there were trained labourers who were a part of this.

Summers in Bengaluru tend to get extreme. Will the sustainable home hold out during this period?

“Yes,” notes Kumar. “The house is self-regulated and is breathable. It is warmer in winter and cooler in summer by 2-3 degrees.”

“Everyone should understand the importance of what we leave behind for our future generations,” he says. “We need to make changes to the way we live and use the resources available to us. We need to concentrate more on reusing or recycling in our daily lives.”

 

[Wiler87]

‘I Save Rs 36,000/Year in Electricity Bills Thanks to The Sustainable Home I Built’​

C N Raaghav is an architect based in Coimbatore whose home Casa Roca (‘house with natural stones’) has become the talk of the town. Armed with a degree in robotic architecture from Spain, one of the prime motivations for building the house was to showcase how sustainable Indian architectural practices are.

Speaking to The Better India, Raaghav says, “Having travelled to over 40 countries, I can say with certainty that the architectural practices followed in India are of very high quality. Some of the old buildings in India are a testament to that.”

Casa Roca is Raaghav’s way of incorporating some of those age-old practices into his own home. Built on a 2500 sq ft space, Casa Roca aims to be sustainable with zero carbon emission. “This is a very modern façade with all the traditional aspects kept alive inside the house,” says Raaghav.

Celebrating Vernacular Architecture​

Casa Roca

From picking handmade tiles from Athangudi and stones for the pillars from Karaikudi, both in Tamil Nadu to using upcycled glass bottles Raaghav has tried to source material from his local sources. He says, “We managed to build this house in eight months. Its unique style and architecture sets it apart and can be described as every neighbours’ envy.”

Speaking about the unique features of his house, Raaghav says, “The slabs I have used to make the roof of the house are made of clay plates, which reduce thermal heat by up to 30 per cent. Along with this, some glass tiles have also been used, which gives us natural light during the day. These are small measures which go a long way in reducing our dependence on electricity.”

Raghav has also used a unique technique known as Rat Trap Bond to build a brick wall.​

This technique is a brick masonry method of wall construction in which bricks are placed in a vertical position instead of the conventional horizontal position, thus creating a cavity (hollow space) within the wall. It was Laurie Baker who introduced it in Kerala in the 1970s and used it extensively for its lower construction cost, reduced material requirement and better thermal efficiency than conventional masonry walls, without compromising the strength of the wall.

As a native, Raaghav was well-versed with the challenges and climatic conditions of the region. “That knowledge helped in designing the home,” he says. Even on the parapet wall, there is a unique patterning work done, wherein the bricks are placed at a 13-degree bend. This creates an illusion when seen from the road and also presents a great look from the outside.

Raaghav named this design ‘Vernametric’.​

Casa Roca

“We have also created a kitchen garden, where herbs and vegetables are being grown. We realised the importance of growing our own food the most during the COVID-19 lockdown,” he says. The building is structured in such a way that the rainwater is collected and is currently taking care of the entire household’s needs. Additionally, Raaghav says that he also intends to install solar panels to take care of their needs.

All this has been achieved with a budget of under Rs 25 lakh and what’s even better is that close to Rs 36,000 is saved every year from what would have been the yearly electricity spend.

 

[yuba]

Very true, but unfortunately, aaj kal.. apart from the really wealthy (for the most part), people pick houses in these modern urban developments.. some of which are very nice in every way imaginable.. full power backup, skorti, lifts, manicured lawns, a clubhouse and pool/gym.. the works..

but puranai zamanai waali havelis ki baat hi kuch alag thi.. some friends have ancestral houses and family living in Rajasthan, and man.. those places actually stay relatively cool even in the scorching heat.. oldschool cooler ya ceiling fan se kaam chal jaata hai summer mein. One is completely comfortable with no need for ACs etc.

So true like i said we kept a bit of our old house made of mitti and it cool in summer warm in winter

 

[Wiler87]

The Man Who Has Created 33 Forests In India – He Can Make One In Your Backyard Too!​

Shubhendu Sharma left his high paying job as an engineer to plant trees for the rest of his life. Using the unique Miyawaki methodology to grow saplings, Afforestt converts any land into a self-sustainable forest in a couple of years. He has successfully created 33 forests across India in two years. Here’s how he made it possible.

Did you know that you could convert a piece of land in your backyard into a beautiful forest within a year? Shubhendu Sharma, an Industrial Engineer, is allowing you to bring nature home.

It all started when Sharma volunteered to assist a naturalist, Akira Miyawaki, to cultivate a forest at the Toyota plant where he worked. Miyawaki’s technique has managed to regenerate forests from Thailand to the Amazon, and Sharma thought to replicate the model in India.

Sharma started to experiment with the model and came up with an Indian version after slight modifications using soil amenders. His first tryst with making forests was in his own backyard in Uttarakhand, where he grew a lush green forest within a year’s time. This gave him confidence and he decided to launch it as a full-time initiative. He quit his job and spent almost a year to do research on the methodology.

After much planning, research and enthusiasm, Sharma started Afforestt, an end-to-end service provider for creating natural, wild, maintenance-free, native forests in 2011.

“I realized it can’t be done as a ‘do gooder” activity. If I wanted it to succeed, I had to think it through and come up with a business plan, and a bunch of my friends helped me to set it up,” Sharma says.

Sharma, an Ashoka, TED and INK fellow was clear from the very beginning that Afforestt will be a for-profit organization. He wanted to change the industry and Afforestt was much more than just a business idea for him.

“The idea is to bring back the native forests. They are not only self-sustainable after a couple of years but also are maintenance-free,” Sharma says.

Taking the plunge​

Shifting his career wasn’t easy. “Especially, convincing the family was very tough. They could not understand why I was bent on quitting a high-paying engineering job at Toyota to plant trees all my life,” Sharma says.

Sharma was adamant on making his idea work and started the company without his family’s knowledge; it was only after a couple of months of operation they got to know about it and finally made peace with it.

“My friends were a great support to me which gave me a boost. Till date, they take interest and engage in the activities of Afforestt,” Sharma says.

Having started on his own, Sharma now has a team of 6 that works from Bangalore. Initial troubles with finding the market and sustaining the business were solved to some extent when they received their first order from a German furniture maker to plant about 10,000 trees. Since then, Afforestt has served around 43 clients and planted over 54,000 trees.

How it works?​

Afforestt works in two ways. One is end-to-end services, where they provide complete Project Execution and Management services which includes arrangement of labour, materials, equipment, tools and facilities required to execute an afforestation project using the Miyawaki Method. Another way is providing project management, on-site consulting and software support.

The process starts with doing a soil survey and finding out what the soil is missing. The minimum land size should be 1,000 square feet. Then a survey is done to study the native plant species and biomass. After the survey, saplings are prepared in a nursery and soil is mixed with biomass to make it more fertile.

Finally the process of planting 50 to 100 varieties of native species at a density of 3-5/sq meter starts. The last stage involves watering and weeding the area for next two years, after which the forest needs no maintenance and becomes self-sustainable.

Sharma designs and formulates in what pattern, sequence and ratio should the saplings be planted for rapid growth. On an average, a sapling grows approximately 1 meter every year. The biggest plus point of Afforestt is its low-cost model. They charge around Rs. 150 per square foot, which is far less than what a regular Miyawaki method costs.

The Challenges​

“The biggest challenge was to launch something which had no existing market and we didn’t even know if it ever would,” says Sharma. Forests are something which require space, and not everyone is open to the idea of having a forest in their backyard.

Apart from that, as this is a one-of-its-kind initiative in India, Sharma had to do a lot of research. There was no help available as this had never been done before.

Again, as this was a unique model, finding clients and convincing people that it is actually possible was again a huge task.

What the future holds?​

Afforest has created 33 forests so far across 11 cities of India and wants to increase the number. Sharma has a lot of plans to scale up and put this technology out there for more and more people to implement.

He is planning to launch a monitored crowd-sourced software where people will be able to feed their native plantation species in the tool. So, in case someone wants to plant their own forest, they would know what all species to go for. This will make their task a lot easier.

“We want to create a scenario where plucking a fruit from a tree in the backyard will be easier than buying it from the market,” Sharma says.

Lessons learnt​

“The biggest lesson that I have learnt is that you need to keep earning money. This is the only way you can sustain your initiative and actually bring a change,” Sharma says.

Another thing he learnt is that people are ready to pay money only if you sell the idea well. “This should become a livelihood cycle, where a lot more people are engaged in afforestation,” Sharma says.

 

[Paitoo]

Read and weep Dilliwalas / Deccan dwellers @-=virus=- @jamahir @Joe Shearer

Super weather right now. Have ordered samosas and tea

 

[lastofthepatriots]

Make AC cheaper or subsidized by the government (yes I acknowledge the tone deafness)

Make your homes like they did in the olden days with tall ceilings

Ok buddy. I’ll just knock down my home and start construction because I have so much money to do that but somehow can’t cover my electricity bill..

 

[-=virus=-]

Read and weep Dilliwalas / Deccan dwellers @-=virus=- @jamahir @Joe Shearer

Super weather right now. Have ordered samosas and tea

View attachment 841049

why you little

thankfully there has been a bit of relief since yesterday though, got a teeny bit of rain even.. still sweltering in the high 30s but.

 

[Basel]

Temperatures in parts of India and Pakistan have reached record levels, putting the lives of millions at risk as the effects of the climate crisis are felt across the subcontinent.

The average maximum temperature for northwest and central India in April was the highest since records began 122 years ago, reaching 35.9 and 37.78 degrees Celsius (96.62 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit) respectively, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

Last month, New Delhi saw seven consecutive days over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), three degrees above the average temperature for the month of April, according to CNN meteorologists. In some states, the heat closed schools, damaged crops and put pressure on energy supplies, as officials warned residents to remain indoors and keep hydrated.


The heatwave has also been felt by India’s neighbor Pakistan, where the cities of Jacobabad and Sibi in the country’s southeastern Sindh province recorded highs of 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 Fahrenheit) on Friday, according to data shared with CNN by Pakistan’s Meteorological Department (PMD). According to the PMD, this was the highest temperature recorded in any city in the Northern Hemisphere on that day.

People cool themselves in a canal in Lahore, Pakistan, on April 29.
ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images

“This is the first time in decades that Pakistan is experiencing what many call a ‘spring-less year,” Pakistan’s Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman said in a statement.

Temperatures in India are expected to improve slightly this week with maximum temperatures across northwest India expected to drop by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius (5.4 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit), the IMD said. Temperatures in Pakistan are also expected to be closer to average – about 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) – later this week.

But experts say the climate crisis will cause more frequent and longer heatwaves, affecting more than a billion people across the two countries.

India is among the countries expected to be worst affected by the impacts of the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“This heatwave is definitely unprecedented,” said Dr. Chandni Singh, IPCC Lead Author and Senior Researcher at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements. “We have seen a change in its intensity, its arrival time, and duration. This is what climate experts predicted and it will have cascading impacts on health.”

Loss of crops​

India often experiences heatwaves during the summer months of May and June, but this year temperatures started rising in March and April.

In the northern state of Punjab, known as “India’s bread basket,” that’s causing heat stress, not only for millions of agricultural workers, but for fields of wheat they rely on to feed their families and sell across the country.

Gurvinder Singh, director of agriculture in Punjab, said an average increase of up to 7 degrees Celsius (12.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in April had reduced wheat yields.

“Because of the heatwave we’ve had a loss of more than 5 quintal (500 kilograms) per hectare of our April yield,” Singh told CNN Monday.

Chandni Singh, from the IPCC and no relation to Gurvinder Singh, said agricultural workers were more likely to suffer from the oppressive heat.

“People who work outdoors – farmers, those in construction, manual labor – will suffer more. They have less options to cool down and can’t stay away from the heat,” she said.

The Yamuna River on May 1 in New Delhi, India.
Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times/Getty Images

School closures and power cuts​

In some parts of India, demand for electricity has led to a coal shortage, leaving millions without power for up to nine hours a day.

Last week, coal stocks at three out of the five power plants Delhi relies on to supply its power reached critically low levels, dropping below 25%, according to Delhi’s Power Ministry.

India canceled more than 650 passenger trains through the end of May to clear tracks for more cargo trains as the country scrambles to replenish coal stocks at power plants, a senior official from the country’s Railways Ministry told CNN.

Indian Railways is a key supplier of coal to power plants across the country.



India has seen months of extreme heat and this week it will only get hotter
Some Indian states, including West Bengal and Odisha, have announced school closures to deal with the rising temperatures.

“Children who have to traveled to school, many of them are getting nosebleeds, they can’t tolerate this heatwave,” West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters last week.

In recent years, both the federal and state governments have implemented a number of measures to mitigate the effects of heatwaves, including shutting down schools and issuing health advisories for the public.

But according to Chandni Singh, more should be done to prepare for future heatwaves.

“We don’t have a heat action plan and there are gaps in planning,” Singh said. “You can only adapt so much. This heatwave is testing the limits of human survivability.”

India and Pakistan heatwave is ‘testing the limits of human survivability,’ expert says

@Joe Shearer @niaz @LeGenD your comments?

ME countries have higher temperatures but they don't face heatwave type problem, why India Pakistan is suffering from it??

 

[Paitoo]

why you little

thankfully there has been a bit of relief since yesterday though, got a teeny bit of rain even.. still sweltering in the high 30s but.

So you are no longer a tandoor but have become a sauna.

But you can rub it in in the winters when we are still at 20 and you guys are sipping single malt in near zero degree temperature.

 

[-=virus=-]

So you are no longer a tandoor but have become a sauna.

But you can rub it in in the winters when we are still at 20 and you guys are sipping single malt in near zero degree temperature.

Yeah winters can be really nice but bring with it the low hanging smog from all the stubble burning from surrounding areas.

its a real pain, and can be a killer for those with chronic lung conditions, your eyes burn and tear, cloaks the whole city in a dreary depressing smog that blocks the sun.. no blue skies.. aand, gets worse every year. I generally take off to the Konkan coast for some susegad time during those months as winters roll into Dilli.

 

[Wood]

Govt revises wheat production estimate downwards by 5.7% to 105 mn tonnes

The lowering of estimates has been attributed to "early summer"

wap.business-standard.com

India's wheat production is down because of the heat. Blow to wheat export opportunity this year