As India grapples with the escalating threat of extreme weather events fueled by climate change, Resilient AI, a Tech4Impact startup, is stepping up to combat the growing heatwave crisis through cutting-edge, AI-powered heat risk solutions.
Haripriya Kesavan, a climate researcher and youth advisor, represented the company and its climate partner STS Global at the prestigious National Institute of Disaster Management’s Young Leaders Conclave 2024 and the annual conference on economics and public policy, ACEP 2024, to demonstrate their innovative approach.
With 12 cities, including Bengaluru and Guwahati, experiencing more than 100 days of higher-than-normal temperatures since 2023, and 15 out of India’s 27 cities facing at least five days of excessive heat in a single year, the cost of inaction is enormous. Resilience AI is focusing on the often-overlooked danger of indoor heat, which can be even more hazardous than outdoor temperatures.
In Delhi’s Vivekananda Camp, a densely populated informal settlement, Resilience AI deployed its AI-based ResSolv heat risk model, utilizing a multi-pronged strategy that includes building footprint detection, multi-hazard risk scoring, and heat hotspot mapping. This approach allows for targeted interventions, empowering stakeholders with accurate information to help households most in need.
Using the AI-generated risk maps, Resilience AI identifies high-risk homes and prioritizes outreach for early warning and preparation. They engage with the local community to demonstrate the significance of heat risks, as many residents often underestimate the danger they face. This targeted community outreach is crucial in raising awareness and promoting proactive measures.
In addition to risk assessment and outreach, Resilience AI works with the community to implement long-term heat mitigation solutions, such as solar thermal roofs from scrap material, street lighting with locally produced materials, and revitalized Safe Drinking Water stations. By involving the community in the implementation process, Resilience AI ensures that the solutions are sustainable and well-received.
Women leaders in the Vivekananda Camp community have used AI climate risk tools and an automatic weather station to develop a tech-savvy Early Warning System that issues alerts at the household level, enabling residents to take precautionary action. This empowers the community to be proactive in the face of heat risks.
To build a more resilient future, Resilience AI advocates for policy interventions, such as building codes and permits that consider technology-based heat risk assessments, and mandatory physical risk assessments for financing climate change construction. The company also promotes the use of AI Climate-Powered Risk Assessment, an innovative tool that offers developers insight into heat risk in greenfield and brownfield projects.
“For the unique challenges we face in today’s times, our solutions must be equally unique,” said Samhita R, Co-Founder at Resilience AI. “By harnessing AI’s power and building resilience for our communities, we can effectively adapt to a rise in heat risk and reduce the costs of inaction.”
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