Climate change has significantly contributed to intense heat waves in our cities, particularly affecting informal settlements. Hyderabad, one of the hottest cities in India, has witnessed its residents endure severe heat stress, as temperatures often soar to 40°C. Consequently, our project took on to comprehend the heat-related challenges faced by people living in informal settlements. Our team of researchers utilized a range of instruments in the field, including temperature sensors; time, activity, and perception surveys; and baseline surveys. These tools enabled us to gain insights into who our respondents are, understand how residents perceive the impact of heat, identify their adaptation strategies, and assess the measures they have taken to mitigate its effects.

Time, Activity, and Perception Survey

As essential as it is to quantitatively measure heat, grasping people’s perception of heat is equally crucial. This insight helped us recognize how individuals in informal settlements experience heat, pinpoint when they experience discomfort, and identify their coping mechanisms. We conducted a repetitive time and perception survey from March 2023 to June 2023, involving 48 respondents (once in two weeks to the same set of respondents). This survey inquired into their activities, when they engaged in them and where, their comfort levels (whether they felt hot, cold, dry, or humid), and their overall comfort during these activities (a likert scale ranging from very uncomfortable to very comfortable).

Take a look at the Time and Perception Survey here:

Baseline Survey

The primary objective of our baseline survey is to answer the question ‘who are our respondents’ by inquiring into their socio-demographic variables. This information would further try and answer the ‘why’ behind the insights obtained from the time and perception survey. This was a one-time survey conducted across 48 of our respondents.

Take a look at the Baseline Survey here:

A Note on Methods

To read about the methods of deploying these tools, click on the following link:

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).