Telangana adopts Cool Roof Policy to reduce heat stress in buildings

Telangana became the first state in the country to have adopted a Cool Roof Policy, intended to reduce the effect of rising temperatures, especially in urban areas.

The policy promotes the usage of cool roofs, which can reflect some of the sun’s incoming radiation back into the atmosphere, thus reducing heat retention and cooling indoor spaces.

To begin with, the state government plans to implement cool roofing in government housing projects, government offices, roads, pavements, and cycling tracks, while undertaking campaigns to explain to the public the benefits of cool roofs.

Telangana municipal administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao unveiled the ‘Telangana Cool Roof Policy 2023-2028’ on Monday, aimed at reducing heat island impact and heat stress in buildings.

The ambition is to bring 200 sq km in Hyderabad and 100 sq km in the rest of Telangana under cool roofing by 2030. In comparison, the target set by New York was to cover 10 lakh sq ft or 0.1 sq km.

Stating it as “a right step towards addressing future climate challenges,” officials said the policy vision is to make Telangana a more thermally comfortable and heat resilient state.

Speaking about the ambitious target set, KTR said the policy has long-term objectives which will be of use to future generations. The area under Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road was over 1,000 sq km and about 20% of the area inside ORR will be brought under cool roofing.

KTR urged builders and individuals constructing buildings to adopt cool roofing which can be implemented by using paints, tiles or other materials to reflect sunlight. It can also be retrofitted in existing buildings.

Recalling his conversation with tiles and paints companies representatives, KTR said that people can recover investment in cool roofing within two years, in the form of energy savings and others.

Telangana is the third most urbanised state in the country with almost 50% population residing in urban areas, there is a serious need to introduce cost-effective and climate-friendly cooling solutions to counter the urban heat island effect, officials said.

KTR reminded that Telangana was the first state to adopt Energy Conservation Building Code in 2014.