Gangetic Planes And Odisha Report Heatwave Conditions, 11 Die In Maharashtra From Heatstroke

Heatwave-like conditions have started surfacing in various parts of India, with temperature rising above 40*C at multiple places. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday forecast that heatwave conditions will prevail in some parts of Gangetic West Bengal till Wednesday. Panagarh in Paschim Bardhanman recorded the day's highest temperature in the state at 42.6*C, while Kolkata's maximum temperature touched 39.8*C.

In Odisha too, the temperature on Sunday remained at or above 40*C in at least 20 places, with Jharsuguda being the hottest place in the state with the mercury level touching 43*C while three places —Boudh, Sambalpur, Talcher— recorded temperatures above 42*C.

In Maharashtra, 11 people apparently died at an event from heatstroke in Navi Mumbai. The 'Maharashtra Bhushan' function was organised in an open ground. Around 50 people were admitted to the hospital and 24 were still in the hospital, as per a PTI report on Sunday night. 

Delhi also recorded temperature above 40*C. Delhi's primary weather station, the Safdarjung Observatory, logged a maximum temperature of 40.4*C, three notches more than normal. Delhi's Pitampura area recorded a heatwave with the maximum temperature of 41.9*C, five notches above normal.

The threshold for a heatwave is met when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40*C in the plains, at least 37*C in coastal areas, and at least 30*C in hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5*C.

Heatstroke deaths in Maharashtra

The 'Maharashtra Bhushan' award event in Navi Mumbai on Sunday turned tragic with the death of at least 11 people apparently due to sunstroke as the function, attended by lakhs, was held in an open ground.

The function held in Kharghar area in Raigad district neighbouring Mumbai was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah who conferred the award on spiritual leader and social reformer Appasaheb Dharmadhikari.

A police official said a couple of patients are on ventilator support at hospitals in Navi Mumbai and Panvel city and their condition is being monitored. 

"At least 11 deaths apparently due to sunstroke have been confirmed," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a release on Sunday night. 

The police official said some patients were discharged after recovery, while some remain admitted in hospitals and are under observation.

Before the CMO release, Shinde had told reporters outside a hospital in Navi Mumbai that at least 50 people were admitted there out of which 24 are still hospitalised while the rest have been discharged after primary treatment. He termed the deaths "very unfortunate".

Heatwave conditions in West Bengal

The Meteorological Department on Sunday forecast that heatwave conditions will prevail in some parts of Gangetic West Bengal till April 19.

Panagarh in Paschim Bardhanman recorded the day's highest temperature in the state at 42.6*C, while Kolkata's maximum temperature touched 39.8*C.

Forecasting heatwave conditions in some parts of Gangetic West Bengal, the Met department said that day temperatures in the southern districts are likely to rise further, which are already hovering above 40*C-mark at several places.

Denoting heatwave conditions, temperatures five degrees Celsius above normal were recorded in Dum Dum (41.2), Sriniketan (42.3) and Bardhaman (42), the Met data said. 

The West Bengal government has notified closure of educational institutions in the state, except the hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, for one week or until further orders from April 17 due to the prevailing heatwave situation.

Heatwave conditions in Odisha

Heatwave conditions prevail in Odisha, Jharsuguda hottest with 43 degrees C

Despite a marginal fall in temperature across Odisha, the mercury level on Sunday remained at or above 40*C in at least 20 places in the state, according to a meteorological department bulletin.

The industrial town of Jharsuguda was the hottest place in the state with the mercury level touching 43*C while three places - Boudh, Sambalpur and Talcher- recorded temperatures above 42 degrees C.

Similarly, six places recorded temperatures at or above 41 degrees C. These places are Angul (41.1), Sundergarh (41.5), Bolangir (41.2), Titlagah and Malkangiri (41.5 each) and Rourkela (41). The maximum temperature recorded in Bhubaneswar was 40*C.  

The IMD issued a yellow warning and stated that thunderstorms with lightening are very likely to occur at one or two places in Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Keonjhar and Bhadrak districts.

It also forecast light-to-moderate rain or thunderstorms at one or two places over the districts of Kendrapara, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi,  Nabarangpur and Nuapada by 8.30 am on Monday.

Meanwhile, the state government announced that all Anganwadi centres will have classes from 7 am to 11 am from Monday due to heatwave conditions. 

The Women and Child Development Department, in a notification, said that all Anganwadi centres have also been directed to make arrangements for an adequate supply of drinking water for the children and their staff during working hours.

However, the district collectors have been empowered to make changes in the timing of the centres, according to the heatwave conditions in their areas.

Government and private schools will also hold morning classes from Monday for the heatwave in the state.

Last month, an expert told Outlook that Odisha is among those places in India that has only started reporting heatwaves in the past 20 years.

"Research has shown that heatwaves have increased in the past 50 years. They are further expected to increase in the next 50 years. Moreover, in the past 20 years, we have seen new areas experiencing heatwaves, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha, which did not have heatwaves earlier. These areas have emerged as a new heatwave hotspot," said Rajesh Kumar Mall, Professor and Head, DST-Mahamana Centre of Excellence in Climate Change Research Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), to Outlook.

(With PTI inputs)