Two people die in southern India as heatwave scorches region

Reuters
Updated ·2-min read
A woman drinks curd to cool herself down during a hot day in Bengaluru

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (Reuters) -At least two people have died in the southern India's state of Kerala of suspected heat stroke, media reported on Monday, as the country battles temperatures soaring to record levels.

A 90-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man died in Kerala on Sunday, the Hindu newspaper reported, as temperatures soared to 41.9 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit), nearly 5.5 degrees Celsius above normal.

"We are yet to confirm whether these deaths were due to heatwaves. The medical process for examining the deaths is on," state disaster management official Shekhar Kuriakose said in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Scientists have said climate change is contributing to more frequent, severe, and longer heatwaves during summer months.

Temperatures across Kerala, at India's southern tip, were expected to be higher than normal, causing authorities to issue warnings asking people to take precautions against the heat such as staying indoors.

In neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, a local politician was handing out fresh fruit, coconuts, and cold drinks in Chennai to help people keep cool.

India's weather department has predicted more heatwave days than normal between April and June, when the monsoon will hit and temperatures usually fall.

In the eastern state of Odisha, where temperatures touched 44.9 C (113 F) on Sunday, the highest recorded in April, at least two people have died this summer of sun stroke, said Odisha’s public health director Niranjan Mishra.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities again closed all primary schools across the country and educational institutions in almost half of districts including the capital as a severe heatwave saw temperatures climb above 43 C (109 F) on Monday.

But for those who work outdoors, like rickshaw driver Mohammed Shameem in Dhaka, there is not much respite.

"It is too hard to work under the sun during a brutal heatwave. There are not many people who are coming out which means getting passengers is tough. But we have no option but to come out and work," Shameem said.

(Reporting by Jose Devasia in Thiruvanthapuram, Additional reporting by Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Michael Perry and Alison Williams)

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