Hyderabad: An unrelenting heat wave continued to wreak havoc across India. More than 1,100 people have lost their lives across the country over a fortnight with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana being the worst hit.
The death toll due to severe heat wave sweeping Andhra Pradesh has risen to 852 with the scorching weather claiming 202 lives in Prakasam district alone, officials said on Tuesday.
In Guntur district, 130 person have succumbed to the heat wave so far, followed by Visakhapatnam (112), Vizianagaram(78) and Nellore 74, according to the figures available on yesterday evening, Special Commissioner for Disaster Management Tulsi Rani said.
The toll in other districts so far is: East Godavari 90, West Godavari 10, Krishna 49, Chittore 29, Kadapa 22, Kurnool 17, Anantapur 14 and Srikaukulam 25.
According to the MeT department, severe heat wave conditions prevailed over many parts including Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasham and Nellore districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh. Jangamaheswara Puram in Guntur district sizzled at 47 degrees Celsius, while most places in coastal Andhra recorded above 43 degrees temperature.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister N Chinna Rajappa said the state government will pay an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the victims. He said that the state government has issued an alert to doctors to be ready to provide medical assistance to the heat wave-affected people.
At least 266 deaths have been reported in Telangana.
The state governments have launched campaigns in villages asking people to wear light clothes and not to step out of their houses in the day. Thousands of water camps have been set up to provide drinking water to people.
The MeT department has issued warnings for Odisha, Jharkhand and coastal Andhra Pradesh, signalling high chances of heatstroke, dehydration and fatality.
In Odisha, the highest temperature was recorded at 47.6 degrees Celsius in Titlagarh town of Balangir district.
Heat wave also gripped Bihar where MeT department forecast that temperature will hover around 45 degrees Celsius at least for a week.
In Uttar Pradesh, heat wave threw life out of gear in places like Agra, Mathura and Firozabad where, along with the scorching heat. People also had to confront dust-laden hot winds. Agra was the hottest part of the state with the mercury hitting 46.1 degrees Celsius. Government hospitals across the state reported a surge in the number of people suffering from heat stroke, dehydration and complaining of upset stomach.
Punjab and Haryana continued to reel under extreme heat wave conditions as the relentless mercury remained around a scorching 45 degrees Celsius. Mercury climbed to 44 degrees Celsius in Amritsar and 43 degrees in Ludhiana and Patiala.
Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 45degress Celsius yesterday, marginally cooler than May 25 -- which was the season's hottest day. The India Meteorological Department said the city will experience more of heat and dryness even if the temperature does not rise.
The situation in the extreme north in the hills of Himachal Pradesh was the same. Una recorded a maximum temperature of 40.6 degrees, while state capital Shimla saw a high of 29.3 degrees. Most of the towns saw high temperatures.
Temperatures hovered between 41 and 45�C in Rajasthan. In Gujarat's Ahmedabad, the civic body recorded seven deaths. The government here issued an alert indicating a prolonged heat wave over the next seven days.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Chambal region and Bundelkhand area continued to reel under extreme heat wave conditions as the mercury hovered around 46 degrees.
In Chhattisgarh, Durg was the hottest place with 46.4 degrees Celsius, followed by Raipur (46.1 degrees).
Weather experts blame the unseasonal rainfall for the high number of deaths. They said the rain meant there was no gradual rise in temperature.
With PTI inputs
