Clothing, not air conditioning, should be 1st layer of response to extreme heat

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/heat-wave-air-conditioning-extreme-heat-zomato-swiggy-school-10718268/

by rustoo • 2 months ago

18 5 2 months ago

indianexpress.com

rramadass2• 2 months ago

Interesting and timely article. Relevant for all regions of the world which are now cooking under extreme heat and humidity.

Excerpts:

Clothing is not peripheral to heat exposure. It is central to it...

In these contexts, fabric and design are rarely chosen for thermal performance.

In extreme heat, these are not neutral choices. They are imposed conditions that can intensify exposure...

Thermal comfort depends on weave, weight, fit, and environmental context. But that is precisely the point: Clothing is a design and material science issue...

What would a more responsive approach look like? It begins by recognising clothing as part of climate adaptation infrastructure. School uniform policies can incorporate breathable fabrics and climate-responsive design. Occupational standards can include textile performance in heat exposure guidelines. Public procurement can factor in thermal comfort alongside durability and cost. Textile innovation can be directed towards heat-resilient garments for mass use, not just niche performance markets.

I am not sure how many are researching fabric made specifically for hot and humid conditions (have heard about Uniqlo's AIRism) but we need this yesterday.

Tarsul• 2 months ago

Clothing doesnt help much. Less concrete, more plants and trees would help much more. Also white roofs.

...But yeah if we're talking about things that can be changed nearly instantly, then yes ok let's talk about clothing. Better then nothing.

rramadass2• 2 months ago

What? Clothing is fundamental to thermal comfort and arguably more important than all the other factors (which are also mentioned in the article).

The article is written to highlight the fact that we have not taken clothing technology seriously as an important parameter to understand and modify to combat increasing heat and humidity.

lgcmo• 2 months ago

It's not X, it's Y It's not X, it's Y It's not X, it's Y

C'mon guys, ask the LLM to avoid this structures

pickleglitch• 2 months ago

In the future, we will all dress like firefighters.

Clothing, not air conditioning, should be 1st layer of response to extreme heat

Related Stories