Scientists have predicted the early onset of a scorching hot summer caused by climate change and say more than a billion people in India and neighboring Pakistan are affected by the extreme heat.
With cooling monsoon rains expected only next June and power outages becoming more frequent in some parts of India, even households can afford to buy machines. Air conditioning is also reeling in the heat for the next few weeks.
Many of the deaths in Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest state, have occurred in rural areas.
Pradeep Awate, a health official from the state of Maharashtra, told Reuters news agency: “These are the deaths suspected of stroke and heatstroke due to the heat.”
India is the world’s second-biggest wheat producer, but the current severe heatwave is expected to weigh on this year’s crop, after five consecutive years of record-high yields.
Scientists believe that extreme heat in India is related to climate change (Image: Reuters)
As electricity demand soars, power supply companies are facing a huge coal shortage and the Indian Government is encouraging the import of coal.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the country recorded its hottest March in more than a century, with the highest temperature in the country rising to 33.1°C, nearly 1.86°C higher than the previous year. annual average temperature.
Many parts of the North, West and East of India saw temperatures rise by more than 40°C this past April.
In the eastern state of Odisha, authorities said, a 64-year-old man died of heatstroke on May 3 and hundreds of others were and are being treated in hospital for heat stroke.
In Subarnapur, the hottest district of Odisha state, the highest temperature of 43.2°C was recorded on May 3.
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