The government announced on Monday ( Jun 10 ) that at least eight people had died in India’s eastern state of Odisha from suspected sunstroke, with the state’s national weather department forecasting more hot weather for parts of the state this week.
When a region’s temperature is between 4.5 degrees Celsius and 6.4 degrees Celsius higher than normal, the India Meteorological Department ( IMD) declares a heat wave. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, on Monday experienced a highest temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius.
The state emergency procedure center reported on Monday that 159 suspected sunburns deaths had been made in Odisha over the summer, adding that sunburns had been identified as the cause of 41 deaths.
” Seventy- three instances ( of suspected heatstroke ) are under investigation at area level”, the council’s statement said.
The wind ministry has predicted heat wave problems will continue to exist in parts of north and east India in the upcoming weeks. This pattern, according to experts, has been worsened by human-driven climate change.
Local media reported last week that the country had nearly 25 000 cases and 56 mortality from temperature strokes in March and May.
Delhi, the capital, experienced its highest-ever heat earlier this month, which was 49.9 degrees Fahrenheit in some locations. As a result, the city is dealing with a water shortage.
In the heat, the nation held regional elections from April to June, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning a second name with a smaller majority, leaving his BJP relying on other parties to form a government.
The wind ministry has predicted that the first monsoon rains that hit southern Kerala state on May 30 and had advanced into the eastern state of Maharashtra after covering southern India, may provide some relief by the end of the month.