India Sizzles with Over 50 Dead from Heat Wave in 3 Days

A severe heat wave has killed over 50 people in India in just 3 days, with hundreds more suspected fatalities as temperatures soared past 45°C.

Scorching heat that has engulfed some parts of India has so far killed over 50 people in three days, authorities report. What began as summer had taken a toll on 33 persons in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, some of whom were poll officials involved in the final phase of the national elections on June 1st. 

The death toll from heat-related incidents has been reported at 20 in the Odisha state of the east, however, several more deaths are being suspected to have resulted from fatal heat stroke. Other presumed heat-related deaths have also been recorded in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand, states.

Severe heat has prevailed in northern, central, and western parts of India for two weeks with temperatures rising higher than 45C (113F) for the consecutive days. Certain regions have known temperature peaks of around 50C (122F). Due to heat, the water and power situation has worsened and the people of the capital Delhi are struggling for water through tankers while frequent power outages have hit due to a rising surge in electricity demand.

The federal health ministry of India revealed at least 56 people died of heat stroke from March 1 to May 30, and nearly 25,000 people were affected by heat stress across the nation. But official data indicates that the actual number of fatalities could be much higher as per the statistics available with the state governments, especially the Odisha officials who are probing into 99 cases of heat stroke deaths in the last 72 hours only.

The summer heat is expected to subside later in the week as monsoon rains begin to fall. However, according to the National Centre for Disease Control, heat stroke is an incredibly dangerous condition with a mortality rate of between 40-64% when the condition is not treated, termed as “life-threatening. ”

Also Read: Heat Wave Continues; Temperatures Touch 50+ Degrees Celsius in Northern India

The heat wave, therefore, occurred at a sensitive time, during the final round of the Indian general election on June 1. Some of the troubled areas noted the deaths of polling staff and interferences at the voting stations.