As mercury shoots up across the country, particularly in the South, more than 380 people have died in the heatwave. The worst-affected Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions have accounted for 368 deaths, 145 in just the last two days.
In Andhra Pradesh, 87 deaths were reported since Saturday taking the toll to 182. Prakasam district has recorded the maximum deaths of 57, State disaster management officials said. The toll pertains to the period from May 18 till Sunday evening for Andhra Pradesh, the officials said.
Telangana reported deaths of 58 more people since Saturday, as a result of which the toll went up to 186 in 10 districts of the State. Nalgonda district recorded the maximum number 55 of deaths, followed by Khammam district at 43 and Mahabubnagar district at 23. In Hyderabad, two people have died from the heatwave.
In West Bengal too, heatwave has claimed one life in Burdwan district. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the heatwave in the two southern States will continue till at least Monday. Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha will also continue to reel under heatwave for the next three-four days, MeT officials said.
Karnal in Haryana recorded the season’s hottest day at 45 degrees Celsius, which was six degrees above normal. In Chandigarh the mercury touched 42 degrees C, which is 4 degrees above normal.
Amritsar experienced the highest temperature at 43.6 degrees Celsius in Punjab. ludhiana and Patiala also recorded temperatures above 40 degrees. The temperature in Delhi reached a high of 44.5 degrees Celsius.
According to MRT officials, heat in north India is due to an ongoing heatwave in Pakistan, where the temperature has already breached 50 degrees Celsius.
In Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad recorded the highest temperature of 47 degrees. For the rest of the State, the mercury was around 41 degree Celsius in most districts. The State capital lucknow also felt the scorching heat at 44.7 degrees Celsius, which is 5 degrees above normal, said sources.
Heatwave also intensified in Odisha as the mercury crossed 40 degrees in at least 19 districts. At least 26 people are reported to have died in the State. Angul was the hottest district in the State recording 46.7 degrees Celsius. Sambalpur in western Odisha recorded 46.6 degrees, Titlagarh and Hirakud are also above 46 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, the mercury touched the highest at 46.5 degrees in Jaisalmer followed by Kota at 45.4 degrees. Churu, Sriganganagar, Jaipur, Barmer, Bikaner, Ajmer and Dabok are also experiencing heatwave.
Churu and Jaipur sizzled at 43.8 degrees Celsius, according to the MeT report till 16:30 hours. Jodhpur, Ajmer and Dabok also recorded day temperatures of 42, 41.4 and 40 degrees Celsius.
Heatwave conditions prevailed at some areas in Bikaner and Kota divisions and the weather is likely to remain the same during the next 24 hours.