The white roofs cooling women's homes in Indian slums

Many women living in slums across India are suffering from extreme heat, which is expected to worsen as temperatures continue to rise. Last year, research by the UK's Met Office found that climate change makes heatwaves during April and May in northwest India 100 times more likely.

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The stifling heat is having a detrimental impact on women's health and productivity, decreasing their work hours and reducing their income. But by helping residents paint their roofs with white solar-reflective paint, MHT [Mahila Housing Trust] is providing an simple solution that keeps the worst of the heat from penetrating buildings and lowers indoor temperatures. It is already bringing some relief to women, children and elderly people living in the slums. They say they can now comfortably spend time indoors during the summer, which is helping to improve their health while allowing them to work and study at home.

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Women living in slums are particularly vulnerable to heat stress, says Dharmistha Chauhan, a gender and social inclusion expert at the Asian Development Bank. During a heatwave in Ahmedabad in May 2010 which killed 1,344 people in one week when temperatures reached 46.8C (116F), 53% of fatalities were women.

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MHT plans to continue its work on heat resilience by installing 5,000 more cool roofs across India by 2026. The non-profit has also painted 13 traffic booths in the city white and convinced the Jodhpur North Municipal Corporation to provide land to make a bus station with a white cool roof, says [MHT's executive director, Bijal] Brahmbhatt.