Heatwave, climate change and Indian startups doing something about it

 

Heatwave is not a fun sounding word. Living through one is not fun either.

At this time of the year, this is a sentiment almost every person living in Delhi and several other parts of India would agree with. For the last few weeks, temperatures across the country have been hovering way above the 40 degrees Celsius mark - safely passing the threshold of a heatwave set by the Meteorological Department.

Inevitably, such extreme weather tends to make one question the status quo: Is it getting hotter every year? Is this year’s summer longer and more intense than last year’s?

Research suggests, it actually is.

If we look at the graph below, over the last 7 decades temperature in Delhi has risen fairly consistently.  

And that is not all. When we zoom out and take a macro perspective, we realise this is not just happening in Delhi or India. It is very much a global occurrence.

According to official estimates, just last year almost every part of the world we live in today was either warmer than average or much warmer than average. Several parts of each continent also registered record high temperatures. 

 

So, what does all this really mean to us - regular people?

Two things.

First, in quite simple yet definitive terms our planet’s climate is changing, and the world is getting warmer. If this was happening at its gradual natural pace, then it wouldn’t have been a concern. But, for the last few decades, our planet’s climate is changing at an unnaturally fast pace. Temperatures are rising to never seen before levels and in general weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable quickly. In the long run, this can put our plans of survival, as a species, into jeopardy.

Second, we have a role to play in all of this.

The faster pace of climate change can be directly attributed to certain human activities which disrupt the natural balance. Activities like cutting down forests indiscriminately, burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) for energy generation and to support the manufacturing industry, large scale farming of animals for meat consumption and last but not least production and wide use of plastics.

A clear cause and effect relationship between these activities and climate change or global warming is now well-established, backed by many years of credible environmental research.

It is this research which compelled governments (including the Union government of India and Prime Minister Modi who pledged at the recently held COP26 to reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels immensely) and international organizations (like the United Nations) to put in place several programs to combat climate change.

And that is not all.

What is really interesting to see is the innovative ways in which technology startups are making their presence felt in this space. They’ve come up with smart yet simple ways by which we can use the resources we extract from nature responsibly. This way we save and restore the natural environment and also change our economy and society for the better.

So, here are three smart startups based in the Delhi-NCR region who are making a difference at the grassroots level:

Lohum

One of the very few companies, globally, with a proprietary technology to recycle and repurpose lithium-ion battery packs, Lohum is helping restore the natural environment in a smart and sustainable way.

Lithium-ion batteries (see image on right) are compact and generate high-energy easily which is why they are used very widely in smart phones, laptops, electronic cars and life-saving healthcare devices like pacemakers. But to make them we need to mine lithium which is bad for the environment. It consumes a staggering amount of water leaving very little for other uses. In addition, when disposed improperly (usually after single use), lithium-ion batteries release several chemicals in the environment.

So, Lohum’s technology to recycle and repurpose them for multiple uses makes a lot of sense. Founded in 2017 in Noida by aerospace engineer Rajat Verma, the company presently recycles 1000 tonnes of Li-ion batteries every year. It plans to increase this tenfold given how quickly electronic cars are now being adopted in India and the world.

Chakr Innovation

Chakr Innovation, based in Gurugram, is another start up helping protect the natural environment and public health. Its patented technology called Chakr Shield captures particle emissions from diesel engines and generators and converts them into base pigment for black ink and paints. Diesel engines and generators (see image below) are used widely as a power backup and their particle emissions if allowed to be released in the air harm not just the environment but our health by causing breathing ailments and heart disease.

This is not all. The company also recently came up with Chakr DeCoV – an innovative device to decontaminate used N-95 masks, making them safe for reuse. This would do away with the shortage of masks, particularly for healthcare workers and reduce waste from masks being thrown away after single use.

Smart Joules

The third and final start up is Smart Joules. Working toward the aim of making essential infrastructure at facilities like hospitals cost and energy efficient, Smart Joules has designed three products and services: JoulePays, DeJoule and JouleCool. Each aimed at achieving two things at one go. First, to lower one of the largest costs paid by any big facility - setting up and maintaining basic infrastructure like lighting, air conditioning, heating and water pumping devices (Like a chiller blast, see image below). And second, reducing the carbon emissions from these devices.

Sounds like win-win for the organization which ends up paying less money for their electricity bills and for the environment which benefits from lower carbon emissions.

These are just three of many startups (in India and around the world) who are using technology, clever thinking and expertise to design innovative products and services.

Hopefully by reading this blog, you’ve become more aware of how things are changing and why they need to change for us to live on this planet safely and leave it intact for the next generations.

Images of a Li-ion battery, diesel Engine have been sourced from Flickr (Royalty free). Image of an industrial chiller blast has been sourced from Indiamart.com.