Women quench their thirst with the tap water on a hot summer afternoon during heatwave in Prayagraj on June 10, 2024. India's heatwave is the longest ever to hit the country, the government's top weather expert said on June 10 as he warned people will face increasingly oppressive temperatures. Parts of northern India have been gripped by a heatwave since mid-May, with temperatures soaring over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). (Photo by Anil SHAKYA / AFP)
A PHOENIX teenager, studying in Andhra Pradesh, India, said he was struggling to beat India’s heatwave.
Sudharshan Moodley, 19, of Northcroft, now living in Visakhapatnam and studying at the Andhra University, said he focused on staying hydrated and keeping cool with fans.
“I have been in the country for 11 months. The temperature began rising since the second week of April from 30 to 33ºC. Then in late April and the middle of May it increased to 38ºC.”
Moodley said currently in Visakhapatnam the temperature was climbing to 34ºC.
“Northern Central India has it worse. Cities like Goa and Delhi have temperatures going up to 46ºC. There have been reports of people dying and also fainting because of the heatwave.”
He said he was currently on his summer break. “I return to university in July. At my home the heat coupled with humidity is bad. It is nothing like the December Durban heat. To keep cool I drink water every half an hour. I am also using an air cooler and fan.”
For heat waves for the next 72 hours, people have been urged to exercise caution. Temperatures are soaring above 46ºC across north India, including in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand.
In Bihar, 22 people have died due to severe heat and high humidity.
This has spurred an India Meteorological Department (IMD) red alert for these states.
Delhi “feels like” 50ºC, residents said. In Delhi, the maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 45ºC, more than 6 degrees higher than the normal temperature for June. According to the weather office, the heat index, or the feels-like temperature in Delhi surged to 50ºC on Monday. In Uttarakhand, most-visited Dehradun recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1ºC while Mussorie sizzled at 43ºC.
Even hill towns like Pauri and Nainital are experiencing a heatwave with little to no rainfall in three months. Hill state Himachal Pradesh is blazing at 44ºC – 6.7 degrees above average.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Katra recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8ºC, while the mercury touched 44.3ºC in Jammu.
Former IMD Director General, KJ Ramesh, said real abatement of heat would occur only once the monsoon arrived. It could take more than 12 days for the monsoon to reach Delhi, he said.
NDTV
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