Every day since summer began, Manju Kadam walks through the narrow lanes from her tiny home made out of corrugated tin sheets in Mangalwar Peth, an urban slum in Pune city. She carries her youngest child in her lap, sweating in the scorching afternoon heat, fatigue clearly visible on her face. She braves the indoor heat for most of the day, completing her daily chores, something that she can’t escape even for a day. She says, “It’s the humidity that makes this summer worse, and that staying out in the heat is a better option than staying home”.
Manju’s experience is far from unique. During visits to two slum settlements in May, indoor temperature and humidity were collected from 50 households between noon and 3 pm, the hottest part of the day. Most homes recorded indoor temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, while relative humidity remained between 30% and 70%. Together, these conditions made the apparent temperature (feels-like temperature) substantially higher, causing residents to experience greater heat stress than the measured air temperature and humidity would suggest.
The physical structure of these settlements is a core issue, says Sunny Yadav. Many homes are built entirely of corrugated tin sheets for roofs and walls, trapping heat throughout the day and creating a thermal risk, especially for elders and children. Houses also stood less than a foot apart, severely restricting airflow and limiting natural ventilation, even during the daytime.
Nearly half of the surveyed households had no windows, with many relying solely on the front door for ventilation, which had to be closed at night. As a cooling device, most families rely on a single ceiling fan due to limited financial means. Even though electricity is available throughout the day, many residents reported that ceiling fans offered little relief during the afternoon because they merely circulated hot indoor air.
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