Cool roofs to combat extreme heat

A global scientific trial is on that includes the city of Ahmedabad in India to study how indoor heat impacts people’s health and economic outcomes in developing countries - and how ‘cool roofs’ might help, according to a Reuters report.

- Meena Janardhan

Hundreds of roofs in the informal settlements of India's western Gujarat state have been painted in a reflective, white coating over the last two months to try to keep their occupants cooler as the hottest time of year approaches. The effort involves 400 households in Ahmedabad.

Researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany are also looking at other projects in Burkina Faso, Mexico and South Pacific. Early results have also shown that reflective, white roofs have led to lower heart rates, According to the study website, the REFLECT study aims to identify whether cool roof technology can be an effective, low-cost, mass-adoptable, passive cooling intervention for high indoor air temperatures in communities affected by extreme heat. The study investigates the impact of cool roof materials on health, environmental and economic outcomes in Hermosillo, Mexico; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Ahmedabad, India; and Niue, Oceania.