At least 33 people have death due to heatstroke in India’s Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand. Government officials on election duty are also among the dead.
These 33 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.
Heat wave has started in various states of India since the beginning of May. Due to low rainfall, heatwaves are lasting longer. The temperature in the capital, New Delhi, soared to 52.9 degrees Celsius this week, the highest temperature recorded in a single day in India’s history.
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.
Earlier on Thursday, 14 people died due to heat-stroke in the eastern state of Bihar. All 10 of these deceased were in charge of polling supervision for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Officers in charge of India’s election zones have to be on the job all day, in many cases spending long hours outside.
Voting is still going on in many areas of Bihar. Voting in the entire state of Bihar will end on Saturday.
At least nine election officials and workers died of heatstroke in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday. Among the dead are security personnel. Besides, at least 23 others have been admitted to hospital due to heat 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 treating at least 23 election officials.
At least 10 people have died in Odisha due to heatstroke in the last two days. The Odisha state government has urged people to avoid going out of their homes between 11 am and 3 pm, as temperatures are highest during that time.
Besides, in the neighboring state of Bihar, three more people have died due to heat stroke in the last two days.
