Veerappan Swaminathan

Extreme heat is an increasingly urgent climate adaptation challenge, especially for older adults and heat-vulnerable households living in dense urban and tropical environments. While heat resilience is often discussed through the lens of policy, urban planning, or public health, effective adaptation also depends on practical socio-technical systems that can work in real homes, care facilities, and communities.

This talk will share lessons from two ongoing community-facing projects: StayCool in Singapore, which combines heat and humidity sensors, physiological wearables, an app, heat alerts, and trained volunteers to support vulnerable households; and a heat adaptation project at Muthiyor Nanban Home in Tamil Nadu, India, which uses site assessment, environmental measurement, stakeholder engagement, and targeted interventions to improve thermal comfort for elderly residents. The talk will highlight implementation lessons for engineers interested in climate resilience, sensing, community systems, and adaptation in practice.

Biography:

Veerappan Swaminathan is the CEO of SL2 Group, a collective of sustainability-focused organisations working across climate, circular economy, education, and digital transformation. He works at the intersection of foresight, implementation design, and community-based innovation, helping organisations translate sustainability challenges into practical programmes and systems. Veerappan is also Co-Founder of Repair Kopitiam, Singapore’s largest community repair movement, and Co-Chair of the Climate Action Singapore Alliance. He was recognised as a UN Global Compact SDG Pioneer in 2023.

Address:Singapore