Residents venturing out into the city during daytime are facing the brunt of rising temperatures that have hit a maximum of 37 degrees Celsius this week.
The heat has been a major challenge for commuters, especially vehicle drivers who have been forced to wait in the harsh daylight for traffic to clear up during rush hour.
Roadside vendors, sanitation workers and police personnel working out in the open are also literally feeling the heat ahead of the onset of summer.
The umbrellas are out in full force in crowded streets as vendors and pedestrians take shelter under their canopies while they close a deal.
Measures are being rolled out to improve the preparedness of the city during the hot season.
A senior Corporation official told The Hindu that approximately 20 stalls at various parts of the city will be installed to dispense drinking water and buttermilk to the public throughout the summer. A suggestion to reduce working hours spent in direct sunlight was also being proposed, he said.
Last week, a green cloth canopy was put up by the Police Department at the Puthur Four Road signal, and at other points to provide respite to commuters who have to wait in the scorching sun.
“We have advised staff on traffic duty to ensure that they are wearing protective headgear and sunglasses to keep them safe from heat exposure. Besides this, they are given lime juice, buttermilk and water at regular intervals to prevent dehydration,” a senior Police Department official said.
A draft of the ‘Heat Action Plan (HAP) for Tiruchi City 2025’, submitted this week to the Tiruchi City and Tamil Nadu Disaster Risk Reduction Agency by Council on Energy, Environment and Water, envisages ward-level analysis of heat risks.
Among the assessed factors are the observed heat extremes (1982–2022) and projected trends (2022–2050) using historical climate data and future projections; exposure mapping, including urban heat islands identified through satellite imagery and socio-economic vulnerability mapping, using official data collated by the Tiruchi City Corporation.
“These measures will help us to offer solutions to heat stress customised to local conditions. We have equipped in the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) with intravenous fluids and oral rehydration solution packets. Persons who show signs of heatstroke must be sponged down to reduce their core temperature. Similarly the first line responders must be able to differentiate between heatstroke and other diseases with similar symptoms,” said M. Vijay Chandran, City Health Officer (CHO).
The CHO added that team leaders on construction sites and underground drainage works have been instructed to contact the nearest hospital within the Corporation limits if staffers show signs of heat stress.
The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital has prepared a special ward for heatstroke patients, said E. Arun Raj, deputy medical superintendent. “We have equipped it with cold intravenous saline and other treatments to bring down the core body temperature of the affected person,” he said.
Published - April 09, 2025 07:34 pm IST
