Severe Heat Wave in India Claims Dozens of Lives

Despite storms and heavy rains in northern and northeastern India, officials and media have warned that the country is facing severe and abnormal heat, which has likely resulted in the deaths of over 100 people and illnesses in tens of thousands more. Reuters, citing the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, reported on Monday, June 3, that at least 30 people have died from heatstroke. Additionally, 97 suspected cases of heatstroke are under investigation. The online newspaper 'The Print' reported, based on government data, that the summer heat, which began between March and May, has recorded 25,000 suspected cases of heatstroke, peaking in May. Reports indicate that the number of extremely hot days this year in northwestern and eastern India has more than doubled compared to previous years. The main reason for this is the reduction of off-season monsoon rains and the blowing of hot winds from neighboring dry areas into India. The 'monsoon' refers to the rains of June, July, August, and September, primarily caused by significant annual temperature changes in large land areas compared to adjacent ocean surfaces. Reports of heat-related deaths have also emerged from northern and western India, where the weather was particularly hot in May, coinciding with the country's national elections, causing water taps in Delhi to nearly dry up and animals in fields to collapse from the heat. However, weather-related casualties in India this summer were not solely due to extreme heat; conversely, some eastern regions of India were affected by a storm known as 'Remal' last week, with heavy rains in Assam state in northeastern India claiming 14 lives since Tuesday, May 28. In the south, the states of Karnataka and Kerala have also experienced heavy rainfall. At the same time, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center, India's southern neighbor, announced on Sunday, June 2, that floods and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains have claimed at least 15 lives. The extreme heat, which began in March, reached 50 degrees Celsius in May in Delhi, the capital of India, and the neighboring state of Rajasthan. Scientists attribute this unbearable heat to various factors, exacerbated by climate change due to human activities. It is expected that early monsoon rains in Kerala last week may somewhat alleviate the heat, but the India Meteorological Department has predicted that the heat wave in northern and eastern India may continue for another five days.