Intentar ORO - Gratis
In this Indian city, smartwatches are part of solution to dealing with searing heat
Manila Bulletin
|May 2, 2025
It’s a little past 10 a.m. and the heat is already blazing on the outskirts of the Western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
Sapnaben Chunara, a 30-year-old mother of three, has just finished her morning chores. She seeks respite from the heat in the shade of a neem tree, a species that can withstand high temperatures and drought.
Chunara spends most of the day outdoors in Vanzara Vas, a low-income neighborhood of about 800 families, because her tin-roofed house is even hotter. Indoor temperatures can be even higher, especially when outside they climb above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F).
That was once rare but now happens regularly. And this year, high heat started three weeks earlier than in previous years, touching 43 degrees Celsius (109.40 F) in early April.
"Sometimes it gets so hot, I can’t think straight," said Chunara, sporting a black smartwatch that contrasts sharply with her colorful bangles and sari.
Chunara is one of 204 residents of Vanzara Vas given the smartwatches for a year-long study to find out how heat affects vulnerable communities around the world. The watches measure heart rate and pulse and track sleep, and participants get weekly blood pressure checks.
Researchers also painted some roofs with reflective paint to reduce indoor heat and will compare them to homes without so-called cool roofs using indoor heat sensors. Along with the smartwatches, this will help them understand how much cool roofs can help poor households deal with India’s scorching summers.
Chunara, whose home didn't get a cool roof, said she's happy to participate by wearing the watch, confident the results will help her family, too.
Esta historia es de la edición May 2, 2025 de Manila Bulletin.
Suscríbete a Magzter GOLD para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9000 revistas y periódicos.
¿Ya eres suscriptor? Iniciar sesión
MÁS HISTORIAS DE Manila Bulletin
Manila Bulletin
Why your face deserves sequential care
Witnessing the new chapter in skin aging
3 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
DPWH to file charges vs contractor of Navotas dike
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will file charges against Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corporation for allegedly failing to repair a damaged section of the Navotas City Coastal Dike, which has been blamed for worsening floods in the city's coastal communities.
2 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
'Uwan', 'Tino' devastation blamed on corruption, greed
Combined death toll rises to 250-NDRRMC
3 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Peso recovery faces growth headwinds-ING
Sluggish Philippine economic growth, compounded by a wider trade deficit and a less interventionist Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), is expected to weigh on the peso's recovery, potentially offsetting gains from anticipated easing of United States (US) interest rates.
2 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Vape Law effective model of harm reduction in the Philippines—health expert
The Philippines' Vape Law has provided a crucial legal and ethical framework for tobacco harm reduction, empowering the medical community to recommend novel tobacco products to patients who do not quit smoking combustible cigarettes entirely.
3 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Government warned against spending cuts
Economists from De La Salle University (DLSU) urged Philippine government officials to sustain public spending despite ongoing corruption investigations, warning that overly cautious fiscal policies could perpetuate decades of underinvestment.
3 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
SC declares constitutional BSKE's resetting from Dec. 2025 to Nov. 2026
There will be no Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Dec. 1, 2025.
3 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Senate to invite Romualdez, 17 other congressmen to flood control probe
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will invite former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and 17 other members of the House of Representatives at the continuation of the panel's inquiry into the anomalous flood control projects.
3 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Two become 40
Danica Valdes-Lloren and Andee de Guzman-Que celebrate life, friendship, and fashion in one unforgettable night
1 mins
November 12, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Our secret to intimacy after 25 years
Thank you, my dearest Filipinos, for making our 25th anniversary pictures from Nice Print Photography viral (1.6 million views on Instagram and 1.5 million views on Facebook).
2 mins
November 12, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size
