No let-up in heatwave, toll 400

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 24

More than 400 persons have died in the past few days – largely in Andhra Pradesh and Telegana — as the temperature hovers over 45°C and a blistering heat wave sweeps through large parts of the country.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) today warned the heat wave will continue for the next 48 hours, even as it held out a possibility of sudden thundershowers at a few places in north India.

“Heat wave conditions would prevail at many places over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Rajasthan; at a few places over east Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh and at isolated places over Punjab, west Uttar Pradesh and Gangetic West Bengal during the next 48 hours,” the IMD warned. It said the severity of the heat wave would be more intense over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and at a few places over Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. It has classified this as ‘severe heat wave’.

The IMD forecast also talks about a western disturbance building up that could result in dust storm or thunderstorm accompanied with squall at isolated places. It says this could be over west Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next 48 hours. Off 400 deaths, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have accounted for 368. Delhi today registered a record high of 44.5°C this season — mercury has been hovering over 43°C for the last few days.

Temperatures in north Indian cities — Delhi, Chandigarh, Karnal, Hissar, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Agra, Bikaner, Jaipur, Lucknow, Allahabad — would see no respite and are expected to be in the region of 44°C to 45°C or more over the next two days.

Met officials have attributed the sweltering conditions in north India to an ongoing heat wave in Pakistan where temperature is touching almost 49°C. The death toll in Telangana so far is 188, BR Meena, State Commissioner, disaster management, was quoted by PTI. Unofficial figures say 40 people died today. In Andhra Pradesh, 87 deaths were reported since yesterday, taking the toll to 182.