Latest news with #ManishSwarup
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Badly built housing propels the heat pandemic in Asia's cities
It is a typical summer's afternoon in Gujarat, India. Women and children are listless as they swelter in their homes in the 34-degree Celsius heat. It's even hotter outside. Families that have moved into affordable housing units built in the last few years are finding their comfort and health have not been sufficiently considered in the design and construction of the new dwellings. There are similar issues in Indonesia — where one study showed most household energy use was dedicated to trying unsuccessfully to stay cool — and Australia, where tenants in rental properties were regularly experiencing indoor temperatures above 30C in summer. We are experiencing a heat pandemic, and it's exacerbated by lousy buildings. Tens of thousands of people were made ill during India's heatwave. ( AP: Manish Swarup ) Changing the way we build homes For that to happen it requires changing the way we build, so homes are suited for future climates. India recorded more than 40,000 suspected heat stroke cases and at least 110 confirmed deaths between March 1 and June 18 2024, when its north-western and eastern parts recorded more than twice the usual number of heatwave days. Increasing average and extreme temperatures, urbanisation, accelerating cooling energy demand, and an ageing population are increasing the vulnerability of millions to heat-related health risks globally. For most people in Gujarat, supplementing the poor thermal performance of their homes with air-conditioning is unaffordable. Cooling is a top priority when finances allow. But this demand for cooling is accelerating growth in demand for electricity, which is still predominantly generated with fossil fuels, thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and global warming. India has approved the construction of 8 million new affordable housing units by the end of 2025. If these buildings are not designed to enable people to stay cool and healthy without air-conditioning, then millions of people will become more vulnerable to the health and social impacts of climate change. India is building millions of new residential apartments across the country. ( AP: Amit Dave ) Simple, low-cost solutions Simple low-cost design changes can make a big difference. Using more insulating wall materials, ensuring windows have appropriate shading, providing ventilation louvres above doors and insect screens so windows can be opened without letting in mosquitoes, can reduce annual cooling loads by around 25 per cent compared to standard practice, research by Monash University and the Global Buildings Performance Network shows. Research into energy use in Indian and Indonesian homes is showing that this is not unique to India. As global warming progresses, people in already warm climates around the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to overheating in their homes. A study in the Indonesian city of Samarinda showed that most household energy use was dedicated to trying to stay cool. Yet, the poor design of houses led to average indoor temperature and humidity being about the same as outdoor conditions — above 27C and 70 per cent humidity – even when air conditioner thermostats were set to 20C. Lack of shading and natural ventilation coupled with poorly insulated and constructed walls and roofs means buildings heat up quickly and let cooled air leak out. Demand for air coolers always rises when India is hit with heatwaves. ( AP: Amit Dave ) Changing the debate Despite some Australian state governments and municipalities declaring a 'climate emergency' and producing action plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030, these have had a limited impact on the climatic adequacy of new housing and renovations. Planning controls applicable to new townhouses for example, are not able to be modified to ensure buildings provide thermal comfort and zero-net emissions without state government approval. Councils also seldom have influence over the performance of single dwelling proposals or renovations beyond enforcing the National Construction Code. If climate change benefits don't convince governments and industry, the health and economic benefits might. Yet this is not a narrative currently framing the debate about policy reforms in the buildings sector. A global evidence review showed the benefits of implementing policy for zero-emissions buildings go beyond keeping global warming well below 2C. A key finding was that sustainable building practices — those that reduce carbon emissions across all phases of the building cycle from design and material choice to supply chains and waste management — deliver substantial physical and mental health benefits. There is also evidence that up to one fifth of the value of energy savings from well designed and implemented energy efficiency building retrofitting and renovation policies relate to direct health benefits such as lower rates of respiratory illness and heart disease. Researchers say sustainable building practices can deliver substantial physical and mental health benefits. ( ABC Central West: Hugh Hogan ) There are health benefits In the European Union, direct health benefits of energy efficiency building renovation was estimated at 2.86 billion euros by 2020. Indirect benefits include better physical and mental health. There were also significant job creation and economic benefits. Each $US1 million invested in energy efficient buildings creates about 14 job-years of net employment with as much as 16 million jobs per annum possible in the green building market globally. It also drives improvement in productivity of the construction value chain. Policies such as mandating net-zero energy performance in building codes leads to a positive return on investment to public finances over time. For example, direct and co-benefits of energy efficiency measures have the potential to add 1 per cent growth in GDP in Germany. Higher energy efficiency performance also leads to lower home operating costs. Energy efficiency measures to eliminate fuel poverty in 2.5 million homes in the UK provided a net economic benefit of 1.2 billion British pounds in 2008. Other non-health benefits reported included cost savings to households, educational benefits of enhanced lighting and increased energy security. As part of the review, the research team conducted interviews with policy influencers in Indonesia and India, and shot video of people at home to determine whether the lived experience of people living in more sustainable housing matched the evidence base. Householders talked about cost savings and the health benefits from moving into affordable sustainable housing in Jakarta. Which begs the question: if sustainable building delivers so many 'win-wins' and could end our 'heat pandemic' why aren't all new buildings sustainable? It turns out the health and other benefits of sustainable building which have been reported in research are either not well known in practice, or not often used to promote sustainable building. Because sustainable building has been viewed primarily through the lens of climate change, other sectors that could benefit such as health, transport, energy and real estate have not been effectively brought into the conversation. Doing so could help convince more people that sustainable building is the ultimate 'win-win'. Peter Graham is an Associate Professor in Architecture at Monash University and Executive Director of the Global Buildings Performance Network. Professor Peter Bragge is Director of Monash Sustainable Development Institute's Evidence Review Service.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rajasthan finishes IPL season with six-wicket win against Chennai
Chennai Super Kings' Dewald Brevis plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Rajasthan Royals' Akash Madhwal celebrates with captain Sanju Samson the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' Dewald Brevis during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Chennai Super Kings' Dewald Brevis plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Rajasthan Royals' Akash Madhwal celebrates with captain Sanju Samson the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' Dewald Brevis during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) NEW DELHI, India (AP) — Rajasthan Royals finished its Indian Premier League season with a six-wicket victory against Chennai Super Kings after finally chasing down the target in its last league game on Tuesday. Rajasthan, which failed to complete the chase in eight of its nine games this season, relied on Vaibhav Suryavanshi's half century to reach 188-4 with 17 balls to spare. Advertisement Fast bowler Akash Madhwal (3-29) was effective with his reverse swing in the final overs to restrict Chennai to 187-8 and allow Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team to add only 17 runs in the last three overs. The win lifted Rajasthan from the bottom of the table with eight points and Chennai now needs a huge win against table-topper Gujarat Titans in its final league match to avoid finishing last for the first time in its IPL history. ___ AP cricket:
Western Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Bangkok officials end search operation at skyscraper after earthquake collapse
The 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 centred in Myanmar, more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometres) away, killed at least 96 people in Bangkok, mostly at the collapsed site. More than 3,000 were killed in Myanmar. Eighty-nine bodies have been retrieved from the rubble while seven people remain unaccounted for at the site, officials said. They said they would continue to test hundreds of pieces of human remains to identify those still missing. The collapse sparked questions about the enforcement of construction safety and corruption. The high-rise building, meant to be the new office of the State Audit Office, was the only building that suffered a total collapse that day. Seven people are still unaccounted for (Manish Swarup/AP/File) The police on Tuesday said they are still investigating and will continue to collect evidence from the collapse site until the end of this month. Authorities are probing several companies and individuals for any wrongdoing in relation to the collapse, including the state-run Chinese contractor, China Railway No 10 Engineering Group. The investigation has led to the arrest of its Chinese executive in Thailand, identified as Zhang, and three Thai shareholders on suspicion of operating the business through the use of nominees. Foreigners can operate a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness. Another Thai-Chinese company, Xin Ke Yuan Steel, also came under scrutiny over the quality of the steel rods provided for the building. Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said two types of steel rods found at the collapse site did not pass safety standards and that Xin Ke Yuan supplied both. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Bangkok officials end search operation at skyscraper after earthquake collapse
Thai authorities have officially ended the search operation at the building under construction in the capital, Bangkok, which collapsed following an earthquake that killed dozens more than a month ago. The 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 centred in Myanmar, more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometres) away, killed at least 96 people in Bangkok, mostly at the collapsed site. More than 3,000 were killed in Myanmar. Eighty-nine bodies have been retrieved from the rubble while seven people remain unaccounted for at the site, officials said. They said they would continue to test hundreds of pieces of human remains to identify those still missing. The collapse sparked questions about the enforcement of construction safety and corruption. The high-rise building, meant to be the new office of the State Audit Office, was the only building that suffered a total collapse that day. Seven people are still unaccounted for (Manish Swarup/AP/File) The police on Tuesday said they are still investigating and will continue to collect evidence from the collapse site until the end of this month. Authorities are probing several companies and individuals for any wrongdoing in relation to the collapse, including the state-run Chinese contractor, China Railway No 10 Engineering Group. The investigation has led to the arrest of its Chinese executive in Thailand, identified as Zhang, and three Thai shareholders on suspicion of operating the business through the use of nominees. Foreigners can operate a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness. Another Thai-Chinese company, Xin Ke Yuan Steel, also came under scrutiny over the quality of the steel rods provided for the building. Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said two types of steel rods found at the collapse site did not pass safety standards and that Xin Ke Yuan supplied both. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Irish Examiner
21-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Thai-Chinese firm denies flouting safety measures amid skyscraper collapse probe
A Thai-Chinese company has denied allegations its steel rods did not pass safety standard tests after nationwide criticism prompted an investigation into the collapse of a high-rise building under construction after an earthquake in Bangkok last month. Authorities are probing Xin Ke Yuan Steel and another Chinese contractor involved in the construction to find out why the building crumbled following a quake centred in Myanmar, more than 800 miles (1,200km) away. It was the only building that completely collapsed that day. The 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 killed more than 3,700 in Myanmar, while in Thailand 47 were killed, mostly at the collapse site, and 47 others were reported missing. Heavy machinery clears the rubble from the high-rise building that collapsed while under construction (Manish Swarup/AP) The collapse sparked questions about the enforcement of construction safety and the state-run Chinese contractor, China Railway No 10 Engineering Group, leading to the arrest on Saturday of its Chinese executive in Thailand, identified as Zhang, on suspicion of operating the business through the use of nominees. Foreigners can operate a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness. Three Thai shareholders of the company are also wanted on suspicion of being the nominees, said officials of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the FBI, who said they are looking into the quality of the construction material and whether the company illegally fixed its bidding. The company posted a video online last year advertising the building, meant to be a new office of the State Audit Office, with plenty of drone footage and boasting about the quality of the design, construction and management of the project. Last week, a Thai engineer filed a police complaint saying that his name and signature were forged as a project controller in one of the construction plans. He denied any involvement in the project. Xin Ke Yuan Steel, also partly owned by Chinese nationals, came under scrutiny over the quality of the steel rods it provided for the buildings. Its operating licence is currently suspended following a fatal fire in December at its factory in Rayong province. Forty-seven people were killed in the earthquake in Thailand, mostly at the collapse site, and 47 others were reported missing (Wason Wanichakorn/AP) Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said two types of steel rods found at the collapse site did not pass safety standards and that Xin Ke Yuan supplied both. He raided the company's factory on April 11 for evidence, saying that samples of the steel products confiscated by authorities following its December suspension have already failed two tests. At a press conference on Monday, the company's legal team disputed the test results, stressing that all of their products have passed safety tests and saying they are being treated unfairly by authorities. However, they declined to comment when asked specifically about the test results of the company's steel rods found at the collapse site. Earlier this month, the Revenue Department filed a complaint accusing Xin Ke Yuan of issuing more than 7,000 false tax invoices. On Monday, the company's lawyers denied any wrongdoing. Thai authorities say the search for the missing workers is continuing.
