The intense heat wave that has swept northern India since June 7 eased on Thursday as a western disturbance hit the region, although hospitals continued to report heat-related fatalities among patients admitted in recent days.
The India Meteorological Department said no heat wave is forecast in most parts of the country in the next four to five days.
The monsoon is forecast to cover central India and most parts of northwest India between June 27 and July 3. The primary rain system failed to make any progress between June 13 and 19, extending the wait for rain in northern India amid the sweltering heat. , it said.
On Thursday, maximum temperatures in many parts of western Rajasthan ranged from 40 to 42 degrees Celsius; some parts of southern Uttar Pradesh and northern Madhya Pradesh; and isolated parts of Haryana, Delhi, eastern Rajasthan and Gujarat.
“Heat wave conditions have subsided today (June 20) in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, North Rajasthan, North Madhya Pradesh and many parts of Uttar Pradesh,” the weather bureau said.
“Under the influence of a western disturbance and lower easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, scattered to fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall has been observed over Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, North Haryana, Chandigarh and North Uttar Pradesh during the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am, isolated very heavy rains have also been observed over Uttarakhand, and isolated hailstorms over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab,” the report said.
The punishingly long heat wave led to a rise in the number of heat stroke victims in northern India, including Delhi. This prompted the Center to issue an advisory to hospitals on Wednesday to set up special units to care for such patients.
The crippling heat overwhelmed the water supply system and electricity grids as Delhi and Haryana feuded over the water crisis in the national capital.
Health ministry sources said on Thursday that at least 114 heat-related deaths and more than 40,984 suspected cases of heat stroke were recorded between March 1 and June 18 this year.
Uttar Pradesh has been the worst hit with 37 deaths, followed by Bihar, Rajasthan and Odisha, according to data collected under the National Heat-Related Illness and Death Surveillance of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
“The data may not be the final submission from states. So the numbers are expected to be higher than this,” an official source said.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Thursday asked officials to visit central government hospitals to see if separate arrangements are made regularly for heatwave-affected patients.
A total of 22 fatalities have been reported at Delhi’s RML, Safdarjung and LNJP hospitals as of Wednesday morning due to suspected heat-related illnesses, officials said on Thursday.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has asked the chief secretary to meet officials of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and social welfare and health departments in the wake of a rise in heat-related deaths in the city.
Overnight rain and partly cloudy skies during the day brought some relief to the city, which was in punishing heat, with minimum temperatures reaching 35.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the highest in June since 1969.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 20, 2024 | 11:58 p.m IST
