Hot in the City

This blog entry has no photos. Only words can describe the weather in Delhi in summer, and even then ....

I foolishly decided to extend my stay in Delhi until June. My Indian friends told me that in June it would be 'really hot'. For my part, I failed to ask for a definition of 'really hot', or even enquire what 'hot' might mean. Now I know.

For the past two weeks there has not been a day when it has been less than 40°C. And this will continue for two months in all. On Thursday it was 43°C and the weather forecasters cheerfully announced that the temperature is set to rise over the next week. By June it is expected to be 47°C.

Now I've lived in hot climates before. I grew up in Darwin on the north coast of Australia, and spent three years in Alice Springs in the late 1990's, in the middle of one of the world's largest deserts. They were hot, but they were in a developed country with an outstanding infrastructure. Air conditioners and fans abounded. India is not like that, and the slum in which I work could not be further from the efficiency and cleanliness of Australia.

In Mayapuri, the electricity is intermittent, at best. This means that the overhead fans in the classroom only work about half the time. I have to close the classroom door because of the din from the medical clinic waiting room that adjoins it. There is one small window that faces onto a concrete yard. The yard is surrounded by a concrete fence, so there is no breeze. The temperature in the classroom is unbelievable - it might be 50°C - but we all just keep waving our notebooks and ploughing on. The kids are so committed to learning that they just won't stop, no matter what the temperature is. They are amazing.

I have to do a lot of walking between the Asha centre and the various bus stops. I carry three litres of water with me, which is all gone by 3pm. When I drink from the bottles, it feels like drinking directly from the hot tap. I've never seen water heat up like that before. I drink it anyway.

The crazy thing is that I'm used to it all now. When the hot weather struck with a vengeance a few weeks ago, I was knocked about a bit. I would come home from work, have a shower then sleep for an hour and a half. Now, I don't seem to be bothered by the heat. I feel as energetic as ever, and don't need to sleep in the afternoon. Don't get me wrong - I notice the heat. How could I not notice drinking three litres of water, or feeling the sweat pouring out of every pore, or peeling my drenched clothing from my body? But the thing is, it actually doesn't bother me now. I've adapted to drinking water almost as often as I breath, and when the fans go out at Mayapuri I don't even comment - I just pick up something to wave and keep teaching.

Maybe I'm turning Indian! :-)

Postscript: Well I may be turning Indian but I'm not getting any smarter. After writing the above post, I went to the rooftop terrace to hang my washing on the line - it's so hot and windy that it will be dry by the time I finish this update. As I walked across the tiled terrace carrying my basket of washing I suddenly felt intense pain in the soles of my feet - yes folks, I'd gone out in bare feet. I fractically cast about for some shade, but there was none, so I dropped my basket and sprinted back to the stairs, in agony the whole way. I now have burn blisters on the soles of my feet. What a numpty!