DEATH TOLL CLIMBS AS INDIA HEATWAVE LEAVES HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED

Mon 19 June 2023:

Nearly 170 people have died in two of India’s most populated states as a result of several days of extreme heat. Authorities have advised vulnerable members of the public to stay indoors to prevent worsening pre-existing health concerns.

According to authorities, the deceased were largely adults over the age of 60 who had prior health difficulties in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar.

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 119 people have died from heat-related illnesses over the last several days while in neighbouring Bihar, 47 people have died, The Associated Press news agency reported on Monday citing local media and health officials.

All 54 deaths in Uttar Pradesh happened in the Ballia area, where hospitals have seen a steady influx of people seeking treatment for heat-related illnesses such as high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, as well as respiratory and cardiac problems.

The largest hospital in Ballia district, about 970km (600 miles) southeast of New Delhi, is unable to accommodate more patients, officials said, and its morgue was overwhelmed after 54 people died due to the heat.

Uttar Pradesh’s health minister, Brijesh Pathak, has opened an investigation into the high number of deaths in the state. Local governments have come under fire from opposition for “carelessness” in not warning the public about the potential health risks of the heatwave, the BBC said on Monday.

“This has never happened in Ballia,” local resident RS Pathak said last weekend, via the Associated Press. “People fear venturing out. The roads and markets are largely deserted.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the government was taking measures to ensure an uninterrupted power supply in the state. He urged citizens to cooperate with the government and use electricity judiciously.

“Every village and every city should receive adequate power supply during this scorching heat. If any faults occur, they should be promptly addressed,” he said in a statement on Friday night.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Ballia on Sunday was 43C (109F), which is around 5C above average. The scorching sun is further being exacerbated by a humidity of 25%.India’s Meteorological Department stated on Sunday that “no relief is expected in the next 24 hours,” indicating that the heatwave is projected to last through Monday.

Outside, Ballia residents told the AP they were scared of going outdoors after midmorning.

“So many people are dying from the heat that we are not getting a minute’s time to rest. On Sunday, I carried 26 dead bodies,” said Jitendra Kumar Yadav, a hearse driver in Deoria town, 110km (68 miles) from Ballia.

Meanwhile, 42 people have died in Eastern Bihar. On Saturday, Patna, the state’s capital, recorded temperatures that were barely below 45C (113F).

The summer months of April, May, and June are normally the hottest in India, before the monsoon season cools things down. However, over the last decade, the country has seen unusually rising heat, which frequently leads to water shortages in the country of 1.4 billion people.

An academic group did a research earlier this year that showed that human-induced climate change has rendered extreme heatwaves in South Asia roughly 30 times more likely.

According to a study published in the scientific journal The Lancet, heat-related mortality in India increased by 55% between 2000 and 2021.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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