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Heat wave toll rises over 150

Mild showers in some places led to a slight dip in day temperatures, but the heat wave continued to rage across the country, with the toll going over 150.

Orissa has been hit worst, accounting for 48 deaths. Seven more persons have died of sunstroke in various parts of the state in the past 24 hours. Five persons died in Ganjam district alone, while one each died in Nabarangpur and Cuttack.

The meteorological office said drizzle and rain in some places in the state brought some respite to the people reeling under intense heat for the past few days.

So far, 18 of the 30 districts in the state have been hit by the heat wave over the last three weeks.

Rains lashed Champua, Jamsala and Chandanpur bordering West Bengal in the last 24 hours. Sambalpur in western Orissa, which has been witnessing an unprecedented rise in day temperatures, also reported rain, bringing much-needed respite to the people. The temperature in the town suddenly plummeted to 34 degrees Celsius, almost 10 degrees less than that prevalent for the past one week.

Dhenkanal district in coastal Orissa still continued to top the casualty list with as many as 12 deaths, followed by five each in Ganjam and Khurda. Unofficial reports, however, put the toll at more than 60.

Thirty-four persons have died so far in Uttar Pradesh. Twelve more deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. Eight died in Bareilly, three in Jhansi and one in Kanpur.

With three more deaths owing to the heat wave reported in the last 48 hours, the total number of deaths in Rajasthan has risen to 10.

In Jaipur, a factory labourer died on his way to hospital. Another unidentified old man was found dead because of the heat in a hospital. The third death was reported in Paldi village of Sikar district.

Dholpur continued to be the hottest place in the state with the mercury rising to 48 degrees Celsius.

Some backward districts of Marathwada region are also experiencing gruelling heat-wave conditions, with unconfirmed reports of three deaths in Nanded district. The highest temperature of 45 degrees Celsius was recorded in Parbhani district while at Aurangabad, the high was 40.9 C.

Moderate showers in some parts of the Bihar plateau gave people much-needed relief from the current dry spell. The local weather office said the hottest place in the state was Gaya at 42.2 degrees Celsius. Jamshedpur also recorded a maximum of 40.4 degrees while Patna touched a high of 37.6 degrees.

Light rain preceded by dust and thunderstorms, however, failed to bring the much needed respite to the people of the North-West. Hisar in Haryana, which was the hottest place in the region, received 0.4mm of rain, but day temperatures hovered around 47 degrees C, seven degrees above normal.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been experiencing sizzling weather conditions, saw the day temperature falling to 20.5 degrees C, one degree below normal, after receiving 3.4mm of rainfall overnight.

Simla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, also received 0.8mm of rain. But the day temperature stayed put at 28.1 degrees, six degrees above normal.

Certain upper reaches of Simla district, including the tourist resorts, also experienced thundershowers last night while heat-wave conditions continued unabated in the lower areas, including Kangra, Una, Bilaspur, Bhuntar, Nahan and Solan, where day temperatures ruled between 33 and 40 degrees.

The day temperature in Delhi dropped by a degree to 43.2 today, but no relief was in sight for the people who have been experiencing one of the worst summers in recent times.

The capital had 44-plus temperatures on the first three days of the month, with the highest being 44.4 on May 1. Delhi has witnessed 40-plus temperatures on 19 days already this summer.

Safdarjang meteorological office director S C Gupta said there were some very small showers last night, but in the absence of any western disturbance there would be no significant change in the heat.

Public schools closed today for their summer vacations, more than 10 days in advance, because of the heat wave. The Delhi government had issued orders on Saturday asking schools to close earlier because of the abnormal heat conditions.

Moderate heat-wave conditions prevailed in parts of Andhra Pradesh, while day temperatures were above normal throughout the state in the last 24 hours.

Medak recorded the highest day temperature of 45 degrees today.

People in the Rayalaseema region had some respite from the oppressive heat, following rain. Cuddapah and Rajampet received 4 and 3cm rainfall, respectively.

All divisions of Madhya Pradesh also experienced heat-wave conditions with Khajuraho, the famous temple town, the hottest place at 47 degrees.

A meteorology department spokesman said heat-wave conditions continued at isolated places in Raipur, Rewa, Jabalpur, Sagar and Gwalior divisions. But rainfall occurred at some places in Bastar division, bringing some respite from the sweltering heat in the tribal belt.

In Bhopal, the maximum temperature was 43 degrees.

Five deaths due to heat-related ailments have so far been reported from within the state.

UNI

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