Heat wave kills 25 as hill station bakes to 31 degrees

Mumbai: The unprecedented heatwave underway in Maharashtra – with mercury reaching 46 degrees Celsius in some areas – has claimed at least 25 lives so far, the highest since 2016, with the number of heat stroke cases d about 375, officials said Monday. .

State health department watchdog Dr Pradeep Awate said with temperatures hitting record highs over the past 100 years, Maharashtra has seen the highest death toll – 25 – due to the heat wave, with much more suffering.

“Chandrapur is among the global hotspots with temperatures hovering around 46 degrees Celsius. However, IMD said that in the coming days there could be a respite from the heat as pre-monsoon showers are likely. in many parts of the state.” Awate told IANS, while urging people to take every precaution.

Ironically, the usually chilly hill station of Mahabaleshwar – where people from across the state flock during the summer – became a scorching 31 degrees, while its neighboring twin, Panchgani recorded 32 degrees – yet making it makes the “coolest” places in the state.

Large parts of the state have been rocked by temperatures of between 35 and 46 degrees since late March, particularly the northern and central parts of the state, in addition to the traditional hotspots of Marathwada and Vidarbha boiling between 40C and 46C.

Out of the (25) heat wave tragedies, 15 were reported in Vidarbha including 11 in Nagpur, 3 in Akola and one in Amravati districts, six deaths in Marathwada comprising 2 in Jalna and one in Parbhani, Hingoli, Osmanabad and Aurangabad. , and 4 from Jalgaon in northern Maharashtra.

It is the highest toll from the heat wave in the last seven years in the state, Awate said, with 19 deaths in 2016, followed by 2 in 2018 and 9 in 2019, rising to 25 in 2022.

All deaths are analyzed by the respective district health committee based on the victim’s symptoms, exposure to heat, temperature and humidity levels for the last 72 hours the death occurred before the cause emerged. either attributed to the heat wave or a heat wave. -caress.

Dr Awate said that before the start of summer, the Health Department was ready with its health emergency plan in February and that it is monitoring daily IMD temperatures which are transmitted to districts for d other corrective measures.

The heatwave boosted power demand to its highest level ever, at 28,276MW – and the state was reeling from long hours of load shedding for two weeks until normal supply was restored on April 28, according to the Minister of Energy, Dr. Nitin Raut. .

Published on: Monday 02 May 2022, 20:18 IST