Market news, 08 January 2025
India’s Cool Roof Policy
Date:
09 January 2024
India, with its growing urban population and fast-growing economy, is striving to balance climate change with the rising need for cooling. Extreme heat in India is not merely an inconvenience; it seriously endangers public health. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 6th assessment report on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability highlighted the intensifying heat and humidity in India, which could pose increasing
challenges to human survival.
As per the study by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and Ministry of Earth Sciences, India, the average number of heat wave events had increased by 138% per year between year 2000–2019 as compared to year 1980–1999.
Rising heat brings with it the challenge of providing access to climate-friendly cooling solutions. Sustainable Energy for ALL’s “Chilling Prospects”
report identified India as having the largest number of people- 309.2 million - at high risk due to lack of access to cooling.
With less than 10% of India’s households having air conditioning, millions more are expected to purchase air conditioners, leading to soaring demand for
electricity.
At the same time, India has nearly half a billion people living in densely populated cities, with skyrocketing development that converts green open space into paved, heat-trapping roofs and roads. These hot surfaces worsen the urban heat island effect (UHI), driving temperatures even higher and ratcheting up the need for even more electricity to keep cool with fans and air-conditioning.
In this scenario, cool roofs and surfaces provide a low-carbon, low-cost cooling solutions that can help people cope with extreme heat, reduce UHI effects, and mitigate the need for air conditioning. Cool roofs are installations designed to reflect solar radiation and prevent the absorption of heat onto a building’s roof surface and keep indoor temperature lower than conventional roofs. Also known as solar reflective and high albedo roofs, these types of roofs have been widely studied and adopted globally.
When implemented at scale, cool roofs can help reduce the UHI effect and benefit the entire city.
This factsheet highlights the experience of the Indian state of Telangana in pioneering a state-wide cool roofs policy.
challenges to human survival.
As per the study by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and Ministry of Earth Sciences, India, the average number of heat wave events had increased by 138% per year between year 2000–2019 as compared to year 1980–1999.
Rising heat brings with it the challenge of providing access to climate-friendly cooling solutions. Sustainable Energy for ALL’s “Chilling Prospects”
report identified India as having the largest number of people- 309.2 million - at high risk due to lack of access to cooling.
With less than 10% of India’s households having air conditioning, millions more are expected to purchase air conditioners, leading to soaring demand for
electricity.
At the same time, India has nearly half a billion people living in densely populated cities, with skyrocketing development that converts green open space into paved, heat-trapping roofs and roads. These hot surfaces worsen the urban heat island effect (UHI), driving temperatures even higher and ratcheting up the need for even more electricity to keep cool with fans and air-conditioning.
In this scenario, cool roofs and surfaces provide a low-carbon, low-cost cooling solutions that can help people cope with extreme heat, reduce UHI effects, and mitigate the need for air conditioning. Cool roofs are installations designed to reflect solar radiation and prevent the absorption of heat onto a building’s roof surface and keep indoor temperature lower than conventional roofs. Also known as solar reflective and high albedo roofs, these types of roofs have been widely studied and adopted globally.
When implemented at scale, cool roofs can help reduce the UHI effect and benefit the entire city.
This factsheet highlights the experience of the Indian state of Telangana in pioneering a state-wide cool roofs policy.
