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INDIA-WEATHER-HEAT-ENVIRONMENT
Severe heat kills dozens in India’s Bihar state
PATNA, India, June 16, 2019 (BSs/AFP) – Severe heat has left dozens dead
over a 24-hour period in India’s Bihar state, as the country enters a third
week of searing temperatures, officials said Sunday.
The deaths occurred in three districts of the poor northern state, where
temperatures have hovered around 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in
recent days, senior health official Vijay Kumar told AFP.
Forty-nine people died in three districts of the Magadh region that has
been hit by drought, he said.
“It was a sudden development on Saturday afternoon. People affected by
heatstroke were rushed to different hospitals,” Kumar added.
“Most of them died on Saturday night and some on Sunday morning during
treatment.”
Kumar said about 40 more people were being treated at a government-run
hospital in Aurangabad.
“Patients affected by heat stroke are still being brought, the death toll
is likely to increase if the heatwave continues.”
Most of the victims were aged above 50 and were rushed to hospitals in
semi-conscious state with symptoms of high fever, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Twenty-seven people died in Aurangabad district, 15 in Gaya and seven in
Nawada district, officials said.
State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a compensation of 400,000
rupees ($5,700) for the family of each victim.
Harsh Vardhan, India’s health minister, said people should not leave their
homes until temperatures fall.
“Intense heat affects brain and leads to various health issues,” he said.
Large parts of northern India have endured more than two weeks of
sweltering heat. 0Temperatures have risen above 50 degrees Celsius (122
Fahrenheit) in the desert state of Rajasthan.
A heatwave in 2015 left more than 3,500 dead in India and Pakistan.
In 2017, researchers said South Asia, which is home to one fifth of the
world’s population, could see heat levels rise to unsurvivable levels by the
end of the century if no action is taken on global warming.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1628 hrs