New Delhi, May 24, (dpa/GNA) – With temperatures at times exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, at least 16 people have died in a single day in the Indian state of Telangana as a result of the extreme heat, according to media reports.
The deaths were attributed to the current heatwave, the PTI news agency and other Indian media reported Sunday, citing the finance minister of the southern state, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy.
The victims came from various districts of Telangana, and all were reported on Friday. Not all 16 people died solely as a result of heatstroke, The Times of India quoted a local health official as saying.
Some of them had pre-existing conditions, particularly the elderly.Millions of Indians are suffering due to the heatwaveA heatwave has had large parts of the country firmly in its grip for days.
High temperatures are not unusual at this time of year on the Indian subcontinent. However, the Meteorological Department reported temperatures up to five degrees “above normal” in some parts of the country, including the Delhi metropolitan area.
On Saturday, the highest temperature of the day was recorded in the Vidarbha region in the east of the state of Maharashtra at 47.1 degrees. The authorities issue a heatwave warning when the maximum temperature is expected to reach at least 40 degrees or more in low-lying areas and at least 30 degrees at higher altitudes.
The heatwave is likely to persist in some parts of the country over the coming days, according to the Meteorological Department of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
GNA