2 days ago, I wrote a post titled 'Heat wave causing havoc in India' in which I informed my readers about the death of a number people from heat wave. Unfortunately, today, I am giving you the same sad news about Pakistan. More than 30 persons have already suffered from death as a result of heat wave and dozens of people have been admitted to the hospitals. 47 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit.) is not a matter of joke and for poor people without an electric fan or for people living in the street; this experience is perhaps similar to the suffering of hell.
Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the problem. Millions of people in South Asia including Pakistan are homeless. Most people living in rural areas (with a home of own) do not have access to electricity and it is a reality that many of them will not have access to electricity even after one decade. Researchers have developed a $100 laptop. Can they develop a $10 cooling fan that runs with alternative energy like solar power? I think that only alternative energy can rescue these miserable people of South Asia.
What do you think?
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I think climate control is an essential component of "shelter" as well as "clothing" -- not only from direct sunlight but also heat. Optimal conditions for human functioning (especially thinking) is 70-80 degrees, and why people living in temperate climates have this great advantage.
What can one really do when the temperatures are consistently over 100 degrees but do as little as possible? The heat just wears you down and makes one susceptible to diseases. I'm surprised more human ingenuity and resources haven't been directed to solving those problems.
Surely it is a relatively easy matter to create shade -- and then finding a reverse technology to suck heat out of the air -- for more useful purposes. Most of that microfiber clothing that does such a good job of wicking heat away from the body seems to be manufactured in Ceylon and Sri Lanka; I hope the natives get first crack at the inventory.
The ionic fans seem to do the best job of air cooling economically -- though some vested interest group always seems to be intent on claiming ionic fans are ineffective, dangerous, etc.
Posted by: Mike Hu | May 9, 2006 7:30 PM | Permalink to Comment