PUNE: The fact that her grandchildren cannot sleep without the comfort of AC leaves 74-year-old Rekha Shinde wondering how much the climate has changed in the city, where she first had a fan in her room after moving into her in-laws’ house in Camp around 50 years ago.
“As we grew up, we did not have a fan in our Kothrud home. Our house had spacious and nicely ventilated rooms with a lot of open spaces around. Pune’s climate was different then and air-conditioners or desert coolers were alien words for the citizens,” she said.
It was this climate that had prompted many to make Pune their home. “I first came to Pune in September 1977 for a project in Bhosari. It used to be so cold then that while returning home after work, we would send our jeeps ahead and jog behind the vehicles for about two kilometres to warm ourselves up,” said Michael Dwyer, a Pimpri resident who used to work in the construction industry.
“When time came to settle down and start a family, the toss-up was between Pune and Baroda (now Vadodara). I opted for Pune because of its beautiful climate. I remember that when we had settled down in Pimpri, we needed a light blanket at night even in the hot month of May,” he said.
Rush for coolers in a city ‘fan-less’ 50 years ago
Pune had by then earned the sobriquet of a “fan-less” city because of its pleasant-to-cold climate throughout the year. Cut to 2022 – people of Pune are busy installing desert coolers at homes, offices or shops to tide over the prolonged and unbearable heat spell.
Shivdas Jadhav, an employee at an electronics shop in Fatimanagar, said, “Desert coolers are selling like hot cakes. These coolers are suitable for places with low humidity and high temperatures. The cooling pads – present on three of the four sides of a cooler – absorb the heat of the air when it passes through them to make the air cooler. In comparison to air-conditioners, the desert coolers are half the price and consume less electricity.”
He said, “Desert coolers, however, perform better in large spaces with enough flow of natural air and proper ventilation. They also require regular maintenance to avoid the growth of fungus and mold, which are harmful to health.”
Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice-president of Godrej Appliances, said, “There is a spike in demand for cooling products because of the intense heatwave across the country. Strong pent-up demand owing to the last two summers being affected by the pandemic-induced lockdown, along with discretionary spending from other categories, is being diverted to cooling devices such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and air coolers.”
He said the consumers were looking for energy-efficient and smart appliances that were not only voice- and WiFi-enabled but also came with additional features such as anti-viral air purification.
Urban designer Aditya Chawande said, “Earlier, people would build houses with natural and sustainable material such as stone and mud. A lot of wood, along with sloping roofs, was a signature feature. Buildings had a maximum of four floors, because the provision of an elevator was rare. Now, not only constructions have taken over most of the open spaces but there is also a shift in the pattern to promote taller buildings and increased use of concrete. The new practices leave hardly any room for heat dissipation.”
He said the domino effect of how the increase in vehicles led to the construction of more concrete roads that absorb more heat than the tar roads, ultimately resulting in heat retention and rainwater runoff.
“Adoption of sustainable development and living practices is the need of the hour. For example – converting building terraces into garden spaces, installing vertical gardens on constructions, wherever possible, and protecting whatever green cover and open spaces we are left with are the options,” Chawande said.
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Originally Appeared Here