Rural India faces increasing threats from rising temperatures. The increased frequency and severity of heat waves have highlighted the urgent need for implementing heat-resilient strategies. This study aims to discuss extreme heat management through traditional and indigenous knowledge and practices. In six structured focus group discussions in Wardha district of Maharashtra (India), 86 participants expressed their views. Three broad categories emerged from the discussion groups: (a) home, housing and building-infrastructure related, (b) daily practices during work and livelihood activities and (c) home remedies for heat-related symptoms. The study highlights a need to integrate indigenous knowledge and community-based practices within the framework of India’s Heat Action Plans to combat heat-related illness and to develop individual and community resilience.
This article details a case study that examines why feelings of social isolation can hardly be reduced in some interventions and offers suggestions for dealing with both loneliness and social isolation. The results show that feelings of social isolation can easily arise if interventions focus only on social gathering activities, because some people may choose not to participate. Implementing outreach activities can help identify untapped targets; however, older adults’ hobbies and social roles, and their surrounding supporters, should be considered further to ensure more sustainable solutions to loneliness and social isolation. The findings have implications for other countries facing similar ageing-related issues.
