Heat wave claims 26 lives in North India

        New Delhi/Jaipur/Agra: As the mercury continues to show upward trend in the country, the heat wave has claimed at least 26 lives so far with 21 in Uttar Pradesh and five in Rajasthan. With seven more deaths last reported on Saturday, the toll in Uttar Pradesh has gone up to 21. Three deaths were reported in Mahoba district of the Bundelkhand region and one each from Varanasi, Hamirpur, Auraiyya and Lalitpur. In Mahoba alone nine persons have died so far due to the heat wave. Agra recoded a maximum temperature of 45.2 degrees Celsius yesterday, four degrees above normal.

      In Rajasthan, Ganganagar recorded the highest temperature of the season in the country at 48 degrees Celsius. Five persons are reported to have died in different areas of the State over the last two days. Three are reported to have died in Pali district and one each in Jodhpur and Jaipur. The strong dust-laden winds blowing the entire day forced people to stay indoors. In different districts of Rajasthan, the temperature varied between 44 and 48 degrees Celsius. Churu recorded 47 degrees Celsius and Jaisalmer, Dholpur, Barmer and Jhalawar recorded 46 degrees Celsius. Bikaner, Kota, Rawatbhata, Bharatpur, Pilani, Sawai Madhopur recorded 45 degrees Celsius, while Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur and capital Jaipur were hot at 44 degrees Celsius. With heat wave sweeping most places across the North India, many places experienced the hottest of the season on Saturday. At maximum temperature of 44.5 degrees Celsius (five degree above normal), Delhi witnessed the hottest May 6 in the last five years.

      Four degrees above the normal range, the maximum temperature in Chnadigarh was 42 degrees Celsius. In Ambala it was 42.1 degrees, and Karnal recorded 42.8 degrees. Amritsar turned out to be the hottest at 44.6 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above normal. Ludhiana at 44 degrees and Patiala at 43.5 degrees were four degrees above normal. Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala also registered their hottest day of the season. Power cuts in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh further made the heat unbearable for the people. Even in the higher altitudes of north India the mercury soared, with Shimla recording a high of 28.5 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above normal. Bhuntar (36 degree Celsius) and Sundernagar (38.2 degree Celsius) were among the hotter places in Himachal. Srinagar recorded a high of 30.4 degree, seven degrees above normal. While intense heat conditions swept Jammu, which recorded a high of 43.6 C, six degrees above normal.

Back to Headlines                  Go To Top