India is on fire, 36 died in ‘heatstroke’

Last Updated on June 1, 2024 4:38 pm

At least 36 people have died due to heatstroke in four Indian states — Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand. Among them are government officials and employees who are in charge of elections.

These 36 people died on Thursday and Friday. India’s Central Meteorological Department (IMD) has said in a forecast that the heatwave will continue today and Saturday.

This week, the temperature in the capital New Delhi soared to 52.9 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature recorded in one day in the history of India.

The IMD’s forecast for Friday said that the heat wave may subside in the northwestern and central states in the coming days, but it will continue for two more days in the eastern states. The Meteorological Department also said that compared to the average temperature that India experiences during summer, this summer has been 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius hotter in various states of India.

14 people died of heatstroke in Bihar on Thursday. All 10 of the dead were in charge of polling supervision for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

At least 9 election officials and workers died of heatstroke in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. At least 23 others have been admitted to the hospital due to illness.

RB Kamal, the doctor in charge of their treatment, told Reuters, “When they were brought to the hospital – everyone was suffering from high fever.” Heatstroke and dehydration are responsible for this. Right now we are giving treatment to at least 23 election officials-employees.

At least 10 people have died in Odisha due to heatstroke in the last two days. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, three more died due to heat stroke at the same time.