Heat rage

Heer Nimavat has been exhausted attending class at Miranda House in Delhi Her college has held classes through summer and the rise in temperature has affected her productivity for the past month ldquoWould they have classes in Canada if it was snowingrdquo asks the first year BA English student ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to be a physical obstacle for it to be an obstaclerdquoWith the Indian Meteorological Department IMD recording March 2022 as the hottest month in 122 years heatrelated frustrations have been rising with the mercury According to the IMD a heatwave in the plains is characterised by temperatures higher than 40 degrees Celsius itrsquos 37 degrees in coastal areas and 30 degrees in the hills If the temperature of a region goes 45 to 64 degrees Celsius higher than normal it is termed a heatwave If it is greater than 64 degrees Celsius itrsquos declared a severe heatwaveIn March the hottest month according to IMD in over 100 years saw the temperature rise to almost 40degC in Mumbai PicSayyed Sameer AbediNimavat observed that the hotter it gets the more she and her friends crib She lives on the top floor of a building right below the terrace ldquoIt the room heats up during the day and the nights are terriblerdquo says the 19yearold who has a fan in her room which is no match for Delhirsquos harsh summers The heat has affected her overall productivity she said during a telephonic interviewAccording to a 2021 research paper by the Imperial College London climate change has a significant and multifaceted impact on mental health and emotional wellbeing Data shows that there is a clear relationship between the effects of climate changemdashsuch as rising temperatures or more frequent and severe weathermdashand worsening mental health In extreme cases it could also spur suicidesDelhibased Heer Nimavat has only a fan in her hostel room She gets frustrated by the heat and it often affects productivityThe research further states that heat waves and extremely high temperatures are associated with a range of negative societal outcomes and increased risks which may in turn influence mental health These include reduced economic output increased conflict and societal violence and disturbed sleep It even affects blood flow and the central nervous system which leads to cognitive and emotional changes that impact mental health and emotional wellbeing adversely Unable to work Nimavat and her peers head back home early ldquoI write poetryrdquo she says ldquoand there seems to be displacement sometimes mental and sometimes physical in creativity It is very difficult to be in the creative space when the physical surroundings are not comfortablerdquo she says While she is aware that she comes from a place of privilege the frustration and fights with her peers keep increasing with the temperatureAnastasia Dedhia chief psychologist at Mind Mantra says that there has been tremendous research and proof that increase in heat is directly proportional to change in temperament ldquoWe study this as studentsrdquo she says ldquoWhen you put an individual in a high temperature environment his aggression will rise proportionatelyrdquoTanisha GoveasTanisha Goveas a mental health expert at AtEase an inclusive mental health platform has had heightened emotional outbursts since April Where earlier she could patiently wait for her cab driver reasoning that she might be stuck in traffic she is now easily frustrated if her ride is delayed ldquoThe frustration comes with misery which gives way to sadness and bouts of cryingrdquo says the Mumbaibased resident ldquoMany of my clients are also feeling lethargic more stressed and upset and I am no different from themrdquo she says ldquoEven the slightest change is a botherrdquoThis is a particular kind of discomfort caused by the excessive heat affecting bodily functions such as digestion The kind of frustration felt by one person in an airconditioned room is qualitatively different from the type experienced by someone on the street or stuck in traffic without an AC Heat is an existing stressor and everything else just adds to it ldquoI live in Andherirdquo says Goveas ldquoand can keep the AC on all day overlooking the high electricity bill But what can someone who lives in an area with frequent power cuts dordquoSalma PrabhuEnvironmentalist and director at Mumbai Sustainability Centre knows how privileged he is when he talks about how the heat wave affects those in the lower socioeconomic bracket In the case of Mumbai humidity adds to the overall physical discomfortldquoThe middle and affluent class can escape to an airconditioned environment but the poor cannotrdquo he saysHarish PandeyThe Central Institute of Psychiatry CIP Ranchi records a steady increase in footfall every year from March to June Dr Basudeb Das Director of CIP says this year the average number of patients needing diagnosis of mental health issues increased by 10 to 20 per cent ldquoThe unprecedented heat wave is one reason for thisrdquo says Das ldquoThe second is the COVID19 pandemicrdquo According to him the heat can encourage bipolar disorder and manic excitementHeat rage can be similar to the seasonal mood disorder prevalent in Europe where people feel depressed and sad in winters due to the lack of sunlight and feel the oppositeeuphoriamdashin summers In India explains Das this phenomenon is sometimes reversed ldquoIn winter people may experience mania and depression in summerrdquo he saysDr Basudeb DasldquoA normal annoyance response would be blaming the government world and those who are harming the environment etcrdquo explains clinical psychologist Salma Prabhu who is also a career counsellor author and environmentalist ldquoA person with moderate and severe mental health issues may suffer frequent bouts of anger and frustration A small incident could set off a fit of rage or other extreme reactionsrdquo She adds that women who are premenopausal or menopausal experience hot flushes and this extreme weather can trigger strong anger outburstsArpita Mallick a big data engineer recalled having a similar fit in front of her flatmate recently They live near an industrial area in Pune due to which her residential complex experiences load shedding frequently Being new to the city and workrelated stress add to her frustration To make matters worse her dog Uno has a respiratory problem and starts panting if hersquos too hot Watching her dog suffer triggers Arpita and makes her feel helpless Moreover taking care of him alone along with her daily chores and frequent power cuts adds to her stress ldquoWhen the weather is cool or itrsquos just about to rainrdquo says the 23yearold ldquoI feel much better when I wake up When itrsquos hot my mood sours as soon as I wake up I have to take Uno for a walk in the heat and manage work and battle power cutsrdquo She also has to time her dogrsquos vet visits he gets restless in the afternoonAnastasia DedhiaAggarwal points out that in a stressful city such as Mumbaimdashwhich doesnrsquot have a good reputation in terms of standard of livingmdashonly 20 to 30 per cent of the population can afford air conditioners ldquoWe donrsquot research this because we are not affected but the lower socioeconomic class is completely squeezed by the absence of access to airconditioned spaces or to open spaces They live and work in crammed spaces rdquo Aggarwal says adding that the rise in temperature also has a direct impact on mental health of those in the agriculture sector ldquoI work with marginalised farmers and the impact on income is directrdquo he says ldquoClimateinduced impact on agriculture is very real it means unpredictability of crop output and thus the incomerdquoHarish Pandey member of the New Link Road Residents Forum in Dahisar says that people are moving to cooler places which have better green cover ldquoWe are consistently losing our green cover pan Indiardquo says Pandey ldquoAs far as Mumbai is concerned we should not only talk about mangroves but also the wetlandsrdquo Land near the coast is wet because of the ingress of sea water ldquoReclaiming the wetlands converting them into dry lands and effects of climate change are felt fasterrdquo says Pandey ldquoSo it is paramount that these wetlands are saved Mangroves and Aarey are natural air conditioners The air in them is cooler which gets displaced by breeze and dilutes the hot urban air More than any other time in the cityrsquos history now is the time to take care of the environment The city has to win the battle of environment vs development so that large urban green areas such as the mangroves Sanjay Gandhi National park Aarey Colony and even larger public parks are saved says Aggarwal Pandey corroborates that the temperature around Dahisar mangroves is three to four degrees lower than what it is at Dahisar stationRishi AggarwalldquoAarey Colony has been an open refuge for peoplerdquo says Amrita Bhattacharjee one of the activists fighting for the conservation of one of the lungs of the city ldquoWhen there are so many trees in one area the temperature will go down It is also a barrier against noise and pollution As a forest it absorbs more water and hence the groundwater level there is very highrdquo She says autorickshaw drivers park their vehicles under a tree at Aarey Colony and take a nap ldquoAs you enter Aarey forest the temperature drops by 15 to 2 degreesrdquo she saysA 2018 study conducted in Philadelphia by the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences found that the depression experienced by people living near a green cover was 415 per cent less than that experienced by those living in barren lands The study also observed that those living near green lots also reported a nearly 63 per cent decrease in selfreported poor mental health as compared to those who didnrsquot ldquoMumbai is losing tree cover every year as more infrastructure projects come uprdquo says Bhattacharjee ldquoIt has become a heat island Even proximity to the sea is not helping us Earlier the sea breeze would sweep the pollution awayrdquoAmrita BhattacharjeeExperts believe that the level of concretisation in the city is at an all time high and thatrsquos bringing down the water table level increasing humidity ldquoCitizens need to speak uprdquo says Bhattacharjee ldquoThe per person open space in the city is only 124 sqm when it is required to be around 9 sqm as per WHOrdquo All of the experts we spoke to agree that citizens need to hold the government accountable and also ensure that those filing a complaint should not be vulnerable ldquoMumbai is a blessed city with its jungles beaches Sanjay Gandhi National Park flamingo sanctuary and mangrove forests We have many such natural resources we just need to plan development around it rather than destroy these giftsrdquo concludes Bhattacharjee124Sqmt of open space per person in Mumbai