<p>Chennai: With heat becoming unbearable due to a host of reasons including the effects of climate change, the Tamil Nadu government is working towards keeping classrooms cool by implementing a high-impact cool roof initiative at a government school here to bring down the temperature. </p><p>The project is being implemented at the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ambattur in collaboration with the UNEP Cool Coalition. </p>.Heat waves to last longer and affect larger regions across India, warn scientists.<p>A 3,206 sq. m roof area across six academic blocks has been coated with high solar-reflective paint with early results showing that temperatures have dropped by over 5 degree Celsius. Indoor temperatures are expected to fall by 1.5 degree Celsius to 3 degree Celsius, directly improving comfort and learning for students. </p><p>Once the results of the pilot are available, the government plans to cool roof about 300 schools across the state under the Green School initiative. The new initiative comes after the Tamil Nadu government’s cool roof project implemented in a residential area in Chennai’s Perumbakkam was recognised by the UNEP. </p><p>“Keeping classrooms cool is becoming critical as heat is increasing due to climate change. The intervention is projected to provide 15 to 20 per cent more thermal comfort hours and over 10 per cent energy savings, while also helping to reduce the urban heat-island effect,” said Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment & Forests), Tamil Nadu. </p><p>Results from the study will help the government scale up cool roofs to 300 schools under the Green School initiative, advancing climate-resilient and healthy learning environments across Tamil Nadu, Sahu added. </p><p>The high-impact cool roof initiative in schools is part of a slew of measures that the Tamil Nadu government has been taking to mitigate the effects of climate change. The state government declared heat wave as a disaster and announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died of extreme heat as it continues to experience extreme weather events. </p><p>High intensity rainfall in less duration has become the order of the day with the number of hot days increasing, the number of rainy days declining, while the average rainfall remains the same. </p><p>While high solar-reflective paint (SRI 101) was used in the school, high Solar Reflective Index (SRI) of 102, was applied to two residential blocks comprising 200 houses in Perumbakkam. This passive cooling intervention led to a temperature reduction of 5 degree Celsius to 8 degree Celsius inside the buildings during peak summer months, the UNEP’s Cool Coalition said. </p><p>Prabhakaran Veeraarasu, Environmental Scientist, Poovulagin Nanbargal an NGO, told <em>DH</em> that such initiatives to reduce the effects of heat on people are welcome but stressed the need for such programs across sectors as heat waves are a reality and cannot be ignored anymore. He cited a study published in Lancet that found out that 1 in 19 farm workers in the state has chronic kidney disease owing to over exposure to heat. </p><p> “We have to focus more on solutions to resist heat, especially to people who work in open fields like farmers, gig workers, and construction workers. We have to ensure that all ambulances are air-conditioned as drivers and attenders are prone to heat waves and hospitals should be equipped with exclusive heat wave wards to treat people who get affected,” Veeraarasu said. </p>
<p>Chennai: With heat becoming unbearable due to a host of reasons including the effects of climate change, the Tamil Nadu government is working towards keeping classrooms cool by implementing a high-impact cool roof initiative at a government school here to bring down the temperature. </p><p>The project is being implemented at the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ambattur in collaboration with the UNEP Cool Coalition. </p>.Heat waves to last longer and affect larger regions across India, warn scientists.<p>A 3,206 sq. m roof area across six academic blocks has been coated with high solar-reflective paint with early results showing that temperatures have dropped by over 5 degree Celsius. Indoor temperatures are expected to fall by 1.5 degree Celsius to 3 degree Celsius, directly improving comfort and learning for students. </p><p>Once the results of the pilot are available, the government plans to cool roof about 300 schools across the state under the Green School initiative. The new initiative comes after the Tamil Nadu government’s cool roof project implemented in a residential area in Chennai’s Perumbakkam was recognised by the UNEP. </p><p>“Keeping classrooms cool is becoming critical as heat is increasing due to climate change. The intervention is projected to provide 15 to 20 per cent more thermal comfort hours and over 10 per cent energy savings, while also helping to reduce the urban heat-island effect,” said Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment & Forests), Tamil Nadu. </p><p>Results from the study will help the government scale up cool roofs to 300 schools under the Green School initiative, advancing climate-resilient and healthy learning environments across Tamil Nadu, Sahu added. </p><p>The high-impact cool roof initiative in schools is part of a slew of measures that the Tamil Nadu government has been taking to mitigate the effects of climate change. The state government declared heat wave as a disaster and announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died of extreme heat as it continues to experience extreme weather events. </p><p>High intensity rainfall in less duration has become the order of the day with the number of hot days increasing, the number of rainy days declining, while the average rainfall remains the same. </p><p>While high solar-reflective paint (SRI 101) was used in the school, high Solar Reflective Index (SRI) of 102, was applied to two residential blocks comprising 200 houses in Perumbakkam. This passive cooling intervention led to a temperature reduction of 5 degree Celsius to 8 degree Celsius inside the buildings during peak summer months, the UNEP’s Cool Coalition said. </p><p>Prabhakaran Veeraarasu, Environmental Scientist, Poovulagin Nanbargal an NGO, told <em>DH</em> that such initiatives to reduce the effects of heat on people are welcome but stressed the need for such programs across sectors as heat waves are a reality and cannot be ignored anymore. He cited a study published in Lancet that found out that 1 in 19 farm workers in the state has chronic kidney disease owing to over exposure to heat. </p><p> “We have to focus more on solutions to resist heat, especially to people who work in open fields like farmers, gig workers, and construction workers. We have to ensure that all ambulances are air-conditioned as drivers and attenders are prone to heat waves and hospitals should be equipped with exclusive heat wave wards to treat people who get affected,” Veeraarasu said. </p>