Old Lahore simmers under the sun

Locals living in congested houses with poor ventilation struggle hard to grapple with the heat

LAHORE:

While the privileged segment of society can afford to escape the wrath of the sizzling sun with a quick getaway to a cooler destination, the intensity of the summer season is felt worst by the low-income locals residing in the congested neighbourhoods of Old Lahore, whose only respite from the heat is the old-fashioned hand fan.

One such family was that of Mohammad Naeem, a resident of Inner Delhi Gate, who lives in a communal family set up with two other siblings and their families in a multi-storey building. “Due to the narrow streets and multi-storied buildings in our area, the humidity levels are extremely high during the summers. At night, if the electricity goes out, we have to rely on hand fans made of palm leaves for keeping ourselves cool. Our house has no air conditioners installed therefore, the months of June, July and August are very tough on us. But we are probably used to it by now,” shared Naeem.

The plight of locals residing in Old Lahore has been further aggravated by deforestation, which in recent years has accompanied the wave of over construction plaguing urban centres like Lahore. Furthermore, the excessive use of air conditioners by affluent households has added to the high levels of heat in the city's atmosphere, which mostly affects those families who cannot afford to cool their homes with air conditioners or UPS.

Ameer Khan, a resident of the Pathan Colony, shared his community’s techniques for combatting the heat during the scorching summer. “When the sun starts to set in the afternoon, water is poured in the courtyard and the street outside the house. Elderly people lay their beds in the street and spend most of their time outside. Women and children sleep inside the rooms of the houses or in the yard. But since the interior parts of the house are very humid, our children frequently develop heat rashes,” said Khan.
“During summers, our house becomes unlivable therefore, I take my children to my natal home in the village for two months, where temperatures are more tolerable,” shared Najma Pervaiz, another local from Old Lahore.

Medical experts warn of the perilous long-term repercussions of heat exposure for humans. As per scientific findings, the human body is designed to function at a core temperature of around 37 degrees Centigrade therefore if the temperature outside surpasses 40 degrees centigrade, humans can become unconscious and can also suffer damage to their heart and brain muscles.

According to Mian Zahid, an architect, the construction of modern buildings and houses must be changed in order to cope with the effects of climate change. “If you look at the buildings of the past, their ceilings were kept quite high, while the width of the walls was also more. Today, multi-storied buildings that are made from cement blocks, bricks and concrete have much lower ceilings. During the construction of houses, one should keep the ceiling high, and simultaneously make special arrangement for air circulation. Doors and windows should be installed in a direction which allows air and light to pass through. People living in rural areas face less difficulty in summers than those living in cities since their environment is less congested and has more greenery,” expressed Zahid.