Over 40,000 heatstroke cases: India grapples with difficult summer
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New Delhi/Guwahati: More than 100 people died across the country from sweltering heat this summer, Reuters reported citing officials.
Extreme heat alongside caused more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases with hospitals reporting increased flow of victims.
Meanwhile, northeast regions of the country is struggling with heavy rains and floods.
Heat waves, worsened by human-induced climate change, caused temperatures hitting almost 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
As temperatures remained high in both day and night across several places in the country, hospitals reported increased flow of heatstroke victims.
Not just humans, even birds fell from skies in the heat, water bodies dried up, and crops wilted, according to reports.
Between March 1 and June 18 at least 110 confirmed deaths from heatstroke have been reported alongside more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke, the report said citing a health ministry official.
During this spell, ‘northwest and eastern India recorded twice the usual number of heatwave days’, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, India’s weather monitoring department predicts ‘above normal temperatures for this month too’, meaning heat will persist.
It is reported that unbalanced growth of cities in the country have turned them into ‘heat traps’.
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of non-profit Wildlife SOS, said that the outfit received several bird rescue call as birds began falling from skies.
"In the past two weeks, Wildlife SOS has been receiving more than 35-40 rescue calls daily, in and around Delhi-National Capital Region. Most of the calls include bird rescue requests," Kartick Satyanarayan reportedly said.
While heat is a serious concern, at least six people were killed on Tuesday night in landslides and floods from heavy rains in the northeastern state of Assam.
Increasing water levels in Kopili, a tributary of Brahmaputra, affected more than 160,000 people in the state.
