India facing another week of deadly heatwave

MD Hasibul Haque Sakib Flickr

A BLISTERING heatwave has claimed more than 1,100 lives in less than a week in India, and forecasters warn that scorching temperatures will continue to rise.
The worst-hit area is the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, where authorities have reported deaths of up to 852 people. Another 266 have died in the neighbouring state of Telangana. Many of the victims are construction workers, the elderly or homeless people.
Authorities say the total number of heat-related deaths have doubled compared to last summer.
Residents of Gurgaon suffered power cuts, lasting 10 hours a day as the grid struggled to cope with the demand from millions of air conditioners.
“Nothing is working – even after taking half a dozen baths a day, you can’t beat the heat,” 34-year-old shop owner Manish Singh said. “We try to spend more time indoors to avoid heatstroke. It’s worse than previous years; we hardly get any electricity and the air conditioners become useless.”
Roads have melted near New Delhi and the heat has caused numerous problems with maintaining animal welfare at farms and the country’s zoos.
Brahma Prakash Yadav, director of the Indian meteorological department, said: “Maximum temperatures won’t fall substantially. However, major relief can be expected from 2 June as there are indications of good showers.”

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