Chennai's Vyasarpadi and Ramapuram residents feel heat, literally

CHENNAI: Heat advisories issued by the government are proving difficult for working-class communities in Chennai to follow due to lack of reliable drinking water, shade, climate-resilient public infrastructure, schools, adequately ventilated homes, and basic protection at workplaces, a community-led study found. It also noted low awareness of most Heat Impact Prevention (HIP) protocols in Vyasarpadi and Ramapuram. While nearly 90% of surveyed residents said they knew they should drink water before feeling thirsty, only 14.3% in Vyasarpadi and 47.2% in Ramapuram knew they should stay indoors between 11am and 3pm.The study, Future Amidst Scorching Heat: Understanding and Building Heat Resilience in Ramapuram and Vyasarpadi, covered 260 residents- 133 in Vyasarpadi and 127 in Ramapuram and includes interviews with 12 residents between late June and early August. It was conducted by the Youth Climate Resilience Movement, Vyasai Thozhargal, Palluyir and Chennai Climate Action Group.Vyasarpadi fared worse than Ramapuram on several indicators of heat exposure and access to relief, with 94.7% of respondents reporting dehydration compared with 89% in Ramapuram. Heat-related hospitalisation was reported by 38.3% of those surveyed in Vyasarpadi and 21.3% in Ramapuram, while headaches affected 78.2% and 58.3%, respectively. Only 44.4% of respondents in Vyasarpadi said they could access doctors at the nearest primary health centre, against 73.2% in Ramapuram. Merely 1.5 to 6.3% of respondents knows 104 health helpline number.In Vyasarpadi, public drinking-water points are available to just 13.5% of respondents, compared to 48.8% in Ramapuram, and residents said water is often unavailable during the hottest part of the afternoon. Large trees are there only in the neighbourhood of 36.1% of Vyasarpadi respondents, against 62.2% in Ramapuram.