New Delhi: Ninety more deaths were reported from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha due to the heat wave, raising the nationwide toll to 2,338 even as some places like Delhi got respite on Monday from the sweltering weather because of the overcast sky and scattered rainfall.
Delhi received light showers which brought temperature down to 37 degrees celsius from 40.6 degrees Celsius yesterday.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported death of 42 more people due to the heat wave, raising the toll in the state to 1,719 from 1,677 yesterday.
Officials said that these are preliminary reports which say these deaths occurred due to the summer. “A three-member committee at district-level comprising tehsildar, civil surgeon and local (police) station house officer will find out the exact cause of deaths," another government said.
Following this, a certified report will be issued and ex-gratia will be given to the relatives only if heat wave is confirmed as the cause.
The sunstroke death toll in Odisha mounted on Monday to 25 from 21 even as the mercury level fell in all places with the highest temperature of the day being recorded at 40.2 degree Celsius in the state capital Bhubaneswar.
A report received from the Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said 25 have so far died of sunstroke even though the revenue department has received 131 cases allegedly due to heat related incidents in the state.
India is presently reeling under the world's fifth most deadliest heat wave. Also, it is the second most deadliest heat wave in the country after 1998. The 1998 heat wave had claimed 2,541 lives.
The 2003 heat wave in Europe was the world's deadliest when 71,310 people were reported dead. In 2002 and 2010, over 1000 deaths were reported from several part of the country due to heat wave related incidents.
A heat wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India. Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.
(With Inputs From PTI)
