India in the grip of a heat wave
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COMMENTS 
Heat wave conditions across many parts of India have intensified with temperatures as high as 49 degrees Celsius. The death toll this summer has topped 250
While heavy rains and winds brought on by Cyclone Laila over recent days cooled the south and east of the country, India’s northern, central and western regions are in the grip of a heat wave. Absence of thundershowers and dry westerly winds blowing in from the desert state of Rajasthan are making matters worse.
The mercury was near a scorching 50 degrees Celsius in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, 49.2 degrees Celsius in Morena, in central Madhya Pradesh, and 47.9 in Haryana’s Hisar on May 26, 2010. “There is a heat wave condition in the country, with rising temperatures, including in the national capital. It will take some time for the condition to subside,” India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director B P Yadav said.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- the US climate agency that monitors global weather using satellites -- the first four months of 2010 have been sizzling hot; north India has not seen such high temperatures for the last 100 years.
Many deaths have been reported from various parts of the country due to the intense heat. Although a consolidated, country-wide death toll is not available, reports from local news outlets estimate that over 100 people have died in the past 10 days, raising the number of deaths this summer across India to over 250.
In Maharashtra and Gujarat, the extreme heat has resulted in 61 deaths while 23 people died of heatstroke in Rajasthan since Monday. Weather conditions are similar in many other parts of the state, officials said.
In Orissa, government officials confirmed at least 25 deaths due to extremely hot weather over the past two weeks. Hirakud town in Sambalpur district, 330 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, recorded 44.5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday -- the day’s highest in the state.
Delhi also sizzled with maximum temperatures touching 45.2 degrees Celsius, four notches above the average for this time of year. This is the highest temperature recorded in May since 2006. An IMD official said: “As per our data, in May 2006 the highest temperature recorded in Delhi was 45 degrees Celsius. The present temperature has broken the five-year record.”
Likewise, the minimum temperature was a notch above average at 28.8 degrees Celsius. The Met department said temperatures in the national capital could touch 46 degrees in the coming days.
In Haryana, while Hisar sweltered at 47.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, Karnal recorded 45 degrees, followed by Ambala’s high of 44 degrees Celsius. The Haryana government ordered all schools in the state to shut from May 27 to May 31 due to the heat wave, effectively advancing by four days the summer recess which normally begins on June 1.
In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a sizzling 47 degrees Celsius. The highest ever temperature recorded in Amritsar so far is 47.7 degrees Celsius, on May 21, 1978. Heat wave conditions are clearly intensifying over the state, with the industrial city of Ludhiana experiencing 46.5 degrees while Patiala town recorded a high of 45.6 degrees. Chandigarh recorded its highest temperature of the season, at 43.2 degrees.
In Uttar Pradesh, the state’s southern parts are the worst hit. In Lucknow, the maximum temperature was 40.8 degrees Celsius, one degree above average, while the minimum settled at 27.4 degrees Celsius.
The heat wave has also overtaken the cooler regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In Jammu, a Met department spokesman said for the first time this season the mercury crossed the 45 degree Celsius mark on Tuesday. Shimla, ‘Queen of the Hills’, sweated it out with day temperatures at 31.1 degree Celsius.
Source: IANS, May 27, 2010
http://www.earthtimes.org, May 2010
http://sify.com, May 2010