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South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Cool ideas in Ahmedabad help commuters beat intense Indian summer heat
For 20-year-old Mayank Yadav, riding a crowded bus during the summer months in a western Indian city can feel like sitting in an oven. Therefore, it is a welcome relief to step off the vehicle and into a bus stop equipped with sprinklers that provide a refreshing mist to overheated commuters. Rising heat is a problem for millions of people in India. In Ahmedabad, temperatures this year have already reached 42 degrees Celsius. City officials have implemented two solutions to help those affected the most. By painting tin-roofed households with reflective paint, they have reduced indoor temperatures, which otherwise might be up to 5 degrees Celsius hotter than it is outside. The city also hung water sprinklers and straw curtains at one bus stop so commuters could get relief from the sun. Officials plan to expand the idea to other bus stops in the city.
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I'm 28 and I've saved £5,000 to start a business. Can I retire by 50?'
Receive personalised tips on how to improve your financial situation, for free. Here's how to apply or fill in the form below. Unlike many 28-year-olds, Madhura Sawant knows exactly what she wants. Her ambition is to start a business within the next five years so she can retire by the time she's 50. To make her dream a reality, Madhura is pouring every penny of spare income into a pot to be used as the project's seed capital. Currently, she earns £38,000 as a procurement and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) analyst at a major car manufacturer. 'The job is not too bad,' she says. 'It's challenging, intellectually stimulating, but I don't want to keep working in Excel spreadsheets my whole life.' The next step in her career is set to be radically different. Madhura owns a 7.5-acre plot of fertile agricultural land in the state of Maharashtra in Western India, where she was born and where her mother and younger sister still live. Coconuts, mangoes and cashew nuts are the staple crops, and she plans to turn the land into an orchard and start an import-export business, or an agritourism venture. She intends to spend between 10 and 20 years building the business, and get it to a stage where it operates without her oversight – 'autopilot mode'. 'I want to keep my plans open and agile,' she says. 'I may stay here or go back to India, but in any case the focus will be on the business.' Flights back to India to see her family are her main expense. Besides that, she is a 'very modest' spender, content in her rented studio flat in Coventry. Madhura and her employer pay a combined £350 a month into a workplace pension, which is now worth £5,600. After spending £750 on rent, £200 on bills and £100 of council tax, she manages to save a little over £1,000 each month. She has built up a £5,000 pot in a regular cash savings account, but feels that taking her first step into the world of investments will unlock the growth she needs to make her venture a success when the time comes. Madhura wants to know how to maximise any investment allowances she is entitled to, and how to strike a balance between saving for her pension and her business. 'I want to be my own boss,' she says. 'So I need to grow my savings, while also maintaining some liquidity.' Matt Bayliss, client manager at Chancery Lane Income Planners Madhura's short-term goal is to start her own business using the land she owns in India. She will need to exchange GBP for rupees at some point, and it is generally better to do this in several tranches to guarantee she doesn't hit the worst rate. Regarding the question of investing her money, the answer is very different depending on whether we're considering her cash or pension savings. The only thing guaranteed with investment is volatility, which is something she cannot afford with her short time horizon, intending to establish her business within the next few years. We would never recommend a client place money into the market with an investment timescale of less than five years for the simple fact that she does not have the time to recover, nor can she afford any potential losses. Instead I would suggest converting some of the cash she currently has on deposit to a fixed interest Isa, given a range of banks and building societies all offer rates above 4pc. With inflation at 2.6pc, these rates would ensure her money retains its value over the period held while benefitting from some additional growth. There is no investment risk with this strategy, and she would have the same protection against institutional risk that she does with her current savings account. Furthermore, as the funds are held within an Isa, no tax would be due on any growth. I would then suggest the cash Isa is topped up monthly with the majority of Madhura's surplus capital. This will increase the overall tax efficiency of her holdings while allowing for some growth and ensuring her holdings remain liquid, therefore meeting all her short-term goals. Moving on to Madhura's long-term goals, she has suggested she would like to retire at 50. Based on her current level of income, and assuming she wants to retire with the same level of income, this is unrealistic. I would suggest moving her retirement date in line with the ability to access her pension, which will be 58 under the legislation at the time of writing. I would first suggest she takes full advantage of her current workplace scheme and ensures she makes the maximum contributions available as her employer will then match this. This will also give her the benefit of 'pound cost averaging', a method which spreads investments are over time in smaller increments instead of all at once. Doing this reduces risk and potentially increases returns by achieving a satisfactory overall price. Regarding the investment of the pension, long-term growth is achieved through equities. While equities are volatile, they are suitable if she aims to retire by 58 at the earliest, as she would have an investment timeline of at least 30 years. There is no time period in history when listed equities have not outperformed all other retail asset classes. I would suggest selecting a fund such as the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund. The fund is ultra low cost (0.23pc per annum) and gives her access to all major markets and economies around the world, to avoid putting all her eggs in one basket. The secret to investing for a future pension is to set up the regular investment and walk away. Don't touch, don't fidget – let the markets do what they do. Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell Madhura has made a great start when it comes to saving her money and financially preparing for the future. She's built up £5,000 in cash savings, which is a decent emergency pot to fall back on should she need it. We usually suggest three to six months of expenses in cash savings to dip into if needed. Madhura is already in this band, so she just needs to assess whether she'd want to build this up further in order to have a bigger pot to fall back on. Once she's satisfied that her cash savings are sufficient, she can shift her £1,000-a-month of savings towards her goal of building seed capital for her future business. We generally think of investing as being suitable for money you won't need for around five years – if Madhura needs it sooner, then it may be better to stick to cash. An alternative is to split the money between the two: taking investment risk with some of the money and keeping the rest in cash. She'll need to think about her time horizons and attitude to risk to work out the right split. If this is Madhura's first time investing it's a good idea to open a stocks and shares Isa to protect her investments from tax. It could be a good option to pick a multi-asset fund, in which the money is invested across different types of investments to get a spread of exposure across different markets. Lots of platforms have their own versions, with different options depending on how much risk she wants to take. Another option is to invest in a broad global tracker fund, such as Fidelity Index World, which costs just 0.12pc a year and buys a small part of lots of different companies around the world. After five years of investing £1,000 a month she could have a pot worth almost £70,000, assuming she achieves 5pc growth per year after charges – and after 10 years it could grow to almost £160,000. She needs to balance the short-term goal with her desire to retire early. This means she'll need to maximise her pension and long-term savings as well. The first step is to make sure she's making the most of any employer matching that her company offers for her pension – if she isn't, she's leaving free money on the table. She can check with her HR department about what her company offers and what she's paying in. Madhura could supplement her workplace pension with extra savings on the side, either in a personal pension or in a lifetime Isa. In a lifetime Isa, she can pay in up to £4,000 a year, which the Government will top up by 25pc, to a maximum of £1,000 a year. The money is entirely tax-free when she comes to withdraw it, but she can't remove it without penalty until she reaches the age of 60, unless she uses it for buying her first house.
Fast Company
14-05-2025
- Climate
- Fast Company
This Indian city is using reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers to fight deadly heat
For 20-year-old Mayank Yadav, riding a crowded bus in the summer months in this western Indian city can be like sitting in an oven. That makes it a treat when he steps off and into a bus stop outfitted with sprinklers that bathe overheated commuters in a cooling mist. 'Everyone is suffering from the heat,' Yadav said. 'I hope they do more of this across the city.' Rising heat is a problem for millions of people in India. In Ahmedabad, temperatures this year have already reached 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit), a level usually not seen for several more weeks, prompting city officials to advise people to stay indoors and stay hydrated. And yet, coping with that heat is a familiar challenge in Ahmedaba d. After a 2010 heat wave killed more than 1,300 people, city and health officials rushed to develop South Asia's first heat action plan. The plan, rolled out in 2013 and now replicated across India and South Asia, includes strategies for hospitals, government officials and citizens to react immediately when temperatures rise beyond human tolerance. Public health officials said it's helped save hundreds of lives every summer. City officials, with help from climate and health researchers, have implemented two simple yet effective solutions to help those affected most by heat: the poor and those who work outdoors. By painting tin-roofed households with reflective paint, they've reduced indoor temperatures, which otherwise might be up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than outside. More recently, the city hung curtains woven of straw and water sprinklers at one bus stop so commuters can get relief from the sun and heat. Officials said they plan to expand the idea to other bus stops in the city. Residents said both measures have been a relief even as they brace for at least three more months of sweltering summer. A simple coat of paint makes all the difference Throughout the city's low-income neighborhoods, hundreds of tin-roofed homes have been painted with reflective paint that helps keep the indoors cooler. Residents said their houses were so hot before the roofs were painted that they would spend most of their time outdoors under any shade they could find. 'Earlier, it was really difficult to sleep inside the house,' said Akashbhai Thakor, who works as a delivery van driver and lives with his wife and three-month-old child in Ahmedabad. Thakor's roof was painted as part of a research project that is trying to measure the impact of the so-called cool roofs. Early results have been promising. 'After the roof was painted, the house is much cooler, especially at night,' said Thakor. People like Thakor are much more vulnerable to extreme heat because their houses aren't insulated and, since most of them depend on a daily wage, they must work regardless of the weather, said Priya Bhavsar of the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, who is working on the project. Bhavsar said low-cost solutions could be the only respite for thousands of people in the city who can't afford to buy an air conditioner. Veer Vanzara, who lives in the same area as Thakor and works in a nearby garment factory, said the heat makes his job much worse, especially since his factory has no ventilation. So his family is grateful for the cool roofs. 'The evenings and night are much cooler than before inside our house,' he said. A bus stop that's become an oasis from the heat In Ahmedabad's city center, a 25-meter stretch of a bus stop has been draped with mats made of straw which, when sprinkled with water, immediately cool the hot wind. Sprinklers installed on the bus stop roof lightly spray cool water on the commuters below, providing instant relief from the blazing heat just a step away. 'When nothing like this was here, it was really hot. What they've done is really good. Senior citizens like me can get some cooling from the heat,' said 77-year-old Ratilal Bhoire, who was waiting under the sprinklers with his daughter. Bhoire said when he was younger, Ahmedabad was hot, but it was still possible to walk many kilometers without feeling dizzy, even at the height of summer. 'Nowadays you can't do that,' he said. Heat is the city's biggest problem and heat waves—continuous days of extreme heat—are increasing, said Dr. Tejas Shah of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, who oversees the city's heat action plan. 'We are in the period of climate change, and it has already shown its effect,' said Shah. Shah and other city officials said the onset of summer has become a testing time and efforts such as cool roofs and cool bus stops are reducing heat-related illness and deaths. As climate projections predict only hotter and longer summers for his city, Shah said being prepared is the only thing to do.
Washington Post
14-05-2025
- Washington Post
In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
AHMEDABAD, India — For 20-year-old Mayank Yadav, riding a crowded bus in the summer months in this western Indian city can be like sitting in an oven. That makes it a treat when he steps off and into a bus stop outfitted with sprinklers that bathe overheated commuters in a cooling mist.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
For 20-year-old Mayank Yadav, riding a crowded bus in the summer months in this western Indian city can be like sitting in an oven. That makes it a treat when he steps off and into a bus stop outfitted with sprinklers that bathe overheated commuters in a cooling mist. 'Everyone is suffering from the heat,' Yadav said. 'I hope they do more of this across the city.' Rising heat is a problem for millions of people in India. In Ahmedabad, temperatures this year have already reached 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit), a level usually not seen for several more weeks, prompting city officials to advise people to stay indoors and stay hydrated. And yet, coping with that heat is a familiar challenge in Ahmedabad. After a 2010 heat wave killed more than 1,300 people, city and health officials rushed to develop South Asia 's first heat action plan. The plan, rolled out in 2013 and now replicated across India and South Asia, includes strategies for hospitals, government officials and citizens to react immediately when temperatures rise beyond human tolerance. Public health officials said it's helped save hundreds of lives every summer. City officials, with help from climate and health researchers, have implemented two simple yet effective solutions to help those affected most by heat: the poor and those who work outdoors. By painting tin-roofed households with reflective paint, they've reduced indoor temperatures, which otherwise might be up to 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than outside. More recently, the city hung curtains woven of straw and water sprinklers at one bus stop so commuters can get relief from the sun and heat. Officials said they plan to expand the idea to other bus stops in the city. Residents said both measures have been a relief even as they brace for at least three more months of sweltering summer. A simple coat of paint makes all the difference Throughout the city's low-income neighborhoods, hundreds of tin-roofed homes have been painted with reflective paint that helps keep the indoors cooler. Residents said their houses were so hot before the roofs were painted that they would spend most of their time outdoors under any shade they could find. 'Earlier, it was really difficult to sleep inside the house," said Akashbhai Thakor, who works as a delivery van driver and lives with his wife and three-month-old child in Ahmedabad. Thakor's roof was painted as part of a research project that is trying to measure the impact of the so-called cool roofs. Early results have been promising. 'After the roof was painted, the house is much cooler, especially at night,' said Thakor. People like Thakor are much more vulnerable to extreme heat because their houses aren't insulated and, since most of them depend on a daily wage, they must work regardless of the weather, said Priya Bhavsar of the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, who is working on the project. Bhavsar said low-cost solutions could be the only respite for thousands of people in the city who can't afford to buy an air conditioner. Veer Vanzara, who lives in the same area as Thakor and works in a nearby garment factory, said the heat makes his job much worse, especially since his factory has no ventilation. So his family is grateful for the cool roofs. 'The evenings and night are much cooler than before inside our house,' he said. A bus stop that's become an oasis from the heat In Ahmedabad's city center, a 25-meter stretch of a bus stop has been draped with mats made of straw which, when sprinkled with water, immediately cool the hot wind. Sprinklers installed on the bus stop roof lightly spray cool water on the commuters below, providing instant relief from the blazing heat just a step away. 'When nothing like this was here, it was really hot. What they've done is really good. Senior citizens like me can get some cooling from the heat,' said 77-year-old Ratilal Bhoire, who was waiting under the sprinklers with his daughter. Bhoire said when he was younger, Ahmedabad was hot, but it was still possible to walk many kilometers without feeling dizzy, even at the height of summer. 'Nowadays you can't do that,' he said. Heat is the city's biggest problem and heat waves — continuous days of extreme heat — are increasing, said Dr. Tejas Shah of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, who oversees the city's heat action plan. 'We are in the period of climate change, and it has already shown its effect,' said Shah. Shah and other city officials said the onset of summer has become a testing time and efforts such as cool roofs and cool bus stops are reducing heat-related illness and deaths. As climate projections predict only hotter and longer summers for his city, Shah said being prepared is the only thing to do. 'It (the heat) needs to be addressed in the proper way," he said. ___ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
