NEW DELHI: At least 15 people died on Thursday due to a heat wave in the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Odisha, as authorities said the easing heat wave in the region would continue until Saturday.
India has experienced a sweltering summer and parts of the capital Delhi recorded the highest temperature in the country this week at 52.9 degrees Celsius, but that can be revised higher by the weather department checking the airport sensors that record readings.
While the temperature is expected to ease in northwest and central India in the coming days, the heat wave in eastern India will continue for two days as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared a heat wave when the temperature reached 4.5 ° C. to 6.4 ° C above normal.
On Thursday, 10 people were reported dead at a government hospital in Rourkela district of Odisha. Five people were reported killed in “sunstroke” in Bihar’s city of Aurangabad, authorities told Reuters.
“About seven more people died on the way to the hospital, but the exact cause of death will be known after the post-mortem,” Aurangabad District Collector Shrikant Shastri told Reuters.
The Odisha government has banned outdoor activities for its workers from 11 am to 3 pm when the temperature reaches its peak.
According to local media reports, three people died in the neighboring states of Bihar and Jharkhand due to the hot weather.
In Delhi, where high temperatures have weakened or sickened wild birds and monkeys, the city’s zoo relies on swimming pools and watering cans to feed its 1,200 residents.
“We have switched to a summer management diet that includes a more liquid diet as well as seasonal fruits and vegetables,” zoo director Sanjeet Kumar told ANI.
Delhi, which is expected to reach 43°C on Friday, has recorded heat-related deaths this week and is facing an acute water shortage.
Billions of people in Asia, including in India’s neighboring Pakistan, are struggling with rising temperatures – a trend scientists say has been exacerbated by climate change.
India, in the heat of national elections, is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases but aims to become net-zero by 2070.
As the heatwave affected parts of the country, the northeastern states of Manipur and Assam were lashed by heavy rains following Cyclone Remal, which inundated several areas on Friday.
Monsoon rains also hit the coast of the southern state of Kerala on Thursday, two days earlier than expected.
