An integral component of conducting an urban heat study involved comprehending the heat perception of residents, their coping mechanisms, the actions they take, and how they adapt to extreme climate conditions. In the context of the project, the research team implemented the Time and Activity Perception survey in Singareni Colony, Hyderabad, commencing toward the end of February 2023. The initial phase of these perception surveys spanned across four months, covering March, April, May, and June.
The Time and Activity Perception survey provided valuable insights into how individuals in Singareni perceived heat concerning various activities at different times of the day conducted indoors or outdoors or in the threshold spaces. This survey was administered to a group of 48 participants residing in diverse housing types and engaged in various occupations across three distinct zones within Singareni: the DWC area, ST/SC area, and Government housing.
Residents residing in government housing typically have concrete (pukka) houses with brick walls and reinforced concrete roofs. On the other hand, those inhabiting the SC/ST and DWC areas predominantly reside in houses constructed with asbestos walls and roofs made of materials like asbestos, tin, or tarpaulin sheets (kutcha and semi-pukka). A total of 174 surveys were conducted, resulting in the collection of 1,875 responses. Mostly surveys were conducted in the day from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Of the 48 respondents, 29 are women, while the remaining 19 are men. In our dataset of 174 surveys, we documented 102 responses from female participants and 72 from male participants. They fall in the age groups between 18 and 66 years of age.
In the field, women were predominantly observed undertaking domestic chores or spending time in threshold areas. They were often engaged in tasks such as peeling garlic and ginger, along with other home-based work. Conversely, a significant number of men were typically already at their workplaces when we arrived in Singareni. Consequently, the participation of women in the survey slightly outnumbered that of male participants for this reason.
When are they available?
In terms of availability, as depicted in Graph 1, female respondents are most commonly accessible between 10:00 am and 02:00 pm. On the other hand, male respondents are typically available either around 09:00 am or from 11:00 am to 03:00 pm.
Female participants usually engage in discussions with us after they have completed their daily chores, which typically involve household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and collecting or filling water containers. In contrast, male participants are available either before they leave for work, usually around 9:00 am, or later in the morning, typically from 11:00 am to 03:00 pm. During this period, some of them return from work or take a break to rest.
What do they do throughout the day?
| Graph | Categories of Activities (X-axis) | Time Slots (Y-axis) |
| Graphs 2&3 | 1. Employment and related activities 2. Learning 3. Leisure, Mass media, and Sports 4. Religious and cultural practices 5. Self-care/Maintenance 6. Socialization 7. Travelling 8. Unpaid caregiving services 9. Unpaid domestic activities | 1. Early morning (4am-8am) 2. Morning (8am-12pm) 3. Afternoon (12pm-4pm) 4. Evening (4pm-8pm) 5. Night (8pm-12am) 6. Midnight (12am-4am) |
As indicated by the graphs, there is an even distribution of male and female respondents in self-care and maintenance activities, encompassing routine tasks like eating, sleeping, and bathing. However, female participants appear to be more engaged in unpaid domestic services compared to their male counterparts.
Graph 4 represents the distribution of unpaid domestic services amongst the female and male responses. Other unpaid domestic activities include folding and pressing clothes, drying and hanging clothes, cleaning activities, filling water in the coolers, and cleaning automobiles. It shows that male respondents indulge in much fewer domestic chores as compared to the female respondents. Among those, their primary activities consist of cooking, as well as collecting and filling water containers for household purposes. These tasks are typically carried out in households where either there is no female member present, or the female member of the household serves as the primary breadwinner. In such cases, the female member departs for work early in the day, and the male member(s) step in to manage these chores.
A peek into the employment patterns
| Graph | Age group pf respondnets (X-axis) | Time Slots (Y-axis) |
| Graphs 5&6 | 1. 18-25 2. 25-35 3. 35-45 4. 45-55 5. 55-65 6. 65+ | 1. Employed by others (Including domestic work, factory jobs, construction, etc.) 2. Homemakers 3. Self-employed (Business owners, entrepreneurs, street vendors, auto drivers, etc.) 4. Students |
Graphs 5 and 6 illustrate the gender-wise breakdown of our survey participants based on age groups and employment types. They suggest that the majority of the working respondents fall within the age bracket of 25-45, with a decreasing number of respondents in employment as we move beyond the age of 45. Graph 5 shows that women are engaged in all categories of employment. They engage in jobs like street vending, housekeeping, ginger-garlic peeling, and other home-based works.
On the other hand, no men are classified as homemakers; instead, they are distributed exclusively between those who are employed by others and those who are self-employed, emphasizing their involvement in income-generating occupations. Most of our male respondents are autorickshaw drivers or are predominantly engaged in jobs conducted in non-airconditioned environments.
Furthermore, a portion of our respondents also participate in seasonal employment. For instance, one respondent, who works as a fruit vendor, sells flowers during festival seasons. Similarly, a female respondent involved in pickle-making switches to the task of removing dry chili stems during the rainy season to prevent the pickles from developing fungus or spoiling. Additionally, a painter mentioned that he faces unemployment during the rainy season as he does not receive any work during that time.
Proceeding further…
Who are our respondents, what do they do, when are they available, what do they do for a living, and where do they live- are fundamental inquiries for us researchers as we embark on our fieldwork. These questions served as the foundation for our survey questionnaire, and the responses we gathered have furnished valuable insights into our respondents’ perspectives on heat. As we progress through subsequent blog posts, we will delve deeper into the research findings and analysis to provide a more comprehensive understanding.
Research supporting this post was supported by funding from the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC), UK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) for the project, Cool Infrastructures: Life with Heat in the Off-Grid City (Award No: ES/T008091/1).