NEW DELHI: As many as 500 people were killed in India due to blistering heat wave sweeping through swathes of India on Sunday, most of the deaths reported in twin states of Telangana and Andhra and included those who died from April 15 and onward.
The searing heat had claimed the lives of 186 people till Saturday, 80% of them homeless. Authorities in the Capital haven’t released any official death figure, though.
Officials in the twin states of reported over 400 deaths from sunstrokes and heat-linked ailments. “We have recorded 246 deaths from Wednesday till Sunday. Prakasam and Visakhapatnam districts are the worst affected with 57 and 53 deaths respectively,” said Dhanunjaya Reddy, director, Andhra disaster management department.
The Telangana government has put the toll at 188 — from April 15 till Sunday — but most of the deaths were reported over the past few days because of unusually high temperatures.
Many parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka are also reeling under the summer scorcher. In Rajasthan, the mercury touched 46.5°C in Jaisalmer and Kota was close behind at 45.4°C.
In Odisha, Indian authorities have received reports of 24 deaths as the mercury crossed the 45-degree mark at six places in the western districts..
The sudden jump in day temperature was witnessed in all major cities in Uttar Pradesh and weather office said the mercury would continue to rise.
The Indian government has issued the general advisory for the masses which reads that “Drink plenty of water, avoid the sun and never go out on an empty stomach,” reads the general advisory.
