Record temperatures in northern India have claimed hundreds of lives in what is believed to be the hottest summer in the country since records began in the late 1800s.
The death toll is expected to rise with experts forecasting temperatures approaching 50ºC in coming weeks.
More than 100 people are reported to have died in the state of Gujarat where the mercury topped at 48.5ºC last week.
At least 90 died in Maharashtra, 35 in Rajasthan and 34 in Bihar.
Hospitals in Gujarat have been receiving around 300 people a day suffering from food poisoning and heat stroke, ministers said.
Officials admit the figures are only a fraction of the total as most of the casualties are found in remote rural villages.
WILDLIFE
Wildlife and livestock has also suffered with voluntary organizations in Gujarat reporting the deaths of bats and crows and dozens of peacocks reported dead at a forest reserve in Uttar Pradesh.
Even India’s northern hill stations — historically a refuge from the heat — have not escaped. Temperatures in Shimla, recorded a peak temperature of 32.4ºC, 8 degrees hotter than the seasonal average.
After a drought last year, farmers are now impatient for the arrival of the monsoon, which irrigates 60 percent of India’s fields.
National meteorologists have forecast “normal” rains for this year, a relief in a country where prices of basic foodstuffs have rocketed in recent months due to growing shortages and structural problems with agriculture.
Forecasters have predicted that the southwest monsoon could arrive over the southern state of Kerala this week, but it is unlikely to reach the parched north before the end of this month.
“It’s too long to wait. We’ll all go mad before,” said Sanjoy Kumar, who sells dumplings from a stall in south Delhi.
RELIEF
The capital has sweltered under intense heat for weeks though, having endured temperatures of around 45ºC last week, dust storms and scattered rain brought some relief over the weekend.
The new air-conditioned metro has seen record numbers of passengers as travelers abandon buses, taxis and auto rickshaws.
Parts of the city have suffered prolonged electricity blackouts and, in outlying suburbs, water shortages.
The Indian Meterological Department attributes the record heat to lack of atmospheric humidity, hot dry winds blowing across the southwestern Thar desert and the effects of last year’s El Nino cycle.
Mean temperatures for both March and April were the highest in more than 100 years.
RSS