A Keralite/Malayali police officer, ASI Bineesh, collapsed and died during a training session for promotion in Delhi. He complained of chest pain and subsequently died while receiving treatment at a hospital.
The incident occurred amid soaring temperatures in northern India, with regions like Churu in Rajasthan recording temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius.
The weather bureau said the temperatures were 12 degrees higher than expected.
Here's a list of top 'hottest' places in Delhi on May 29, 2024
Mungeshpur, Delhi - 52.3 degrees Celsius
Phalodi, Rajasthan - 51 degrees Celsius
Sirsa, Haryana - 50.3 degrees Celsius
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh - 48 degrees Celsius
Narela, Delhi - 47.9 degrees Celsius
Rohtak, Haryana - 47.7 degrees
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which reported “severe heat-wave conditions”, recorded the temperatures in the Delhi suburb of Mungeshpur on Wednesday afternoon, smashing the previous national record in the desert of Rajasthan by one degree Celsius.
The weather bureau said the temperatures were 12 degrees higher than expected.
Forecasters predict similar temperatures on Wednesday for the city with an estimated population of more than 30 million people, issuing a red alert warning notice for people to take care.
The IMD’s red alert is a warning there is a “very high likelihood of developing heat illness and heat stroke in all ages”, with “extreme care needed for vulnerable people”.
Heat remains high even during the night, it added.
The IMD said the heat wave in northwest and central India was “likely to reduce gradually” from Thursday.
In May 2022, parts of Delhi hit 49.2 degrees Celsius (120.5 Fahrenheit), Indian media reported at the time.
India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures.
But years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense. ‘Water scarcity’
New Delhi authorities have also warned of the risk of water shortages as the capital swelters in headache-inducing heat — cutting supplies to some areas.
Water Minister Atishi Marlena has called for “collective responsibility” in stopping wasteful water use, the Times of India newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“To address the problem of water scarcity, we have taken a slew of measures such as reducing water supply from twice a day to once a day in many areas,” Atishi said.
“The water thus saved will be rationed and supplied to the water-deficient areas where supply lasts only 15 to 20 minutes a day,” she added.
The highly-polluted Yamuna river — a tributary of the Ganges — runs through Delhi, but flow is hugely reduced during the summer months.
Delhi relies almost entirely on water from the neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, both farming states with their huge water demands.
Many blame the soaring temperatures on scorching winds from Rajasthan state, where temperatures on Tuesday were the hottest in the country, at 50.5 degrees Celsius.
Rajasthan’s desert region of Phalodi holds the country’s all-time heat record, hitting 51 degrees Celsius in 2016.
Like India, Pakistan has also sweltered through a week-long heatwave, which peaked at 53 degrees Celsius on Sunday in Mohenjo Daro in Sindh.
The Met Office said it expected temperatures to subside from Wednesday, but warned further heatwaves were coming in June.
It comes as the country hashes out a new deal with the International Monetary Fund which is believed to focus heavily on the energy supply crisis, that has left parts of the country facing up to 15 hours of load shedding a day.
At the same time, India’s West Bengal state and the northeastern state of Mizoram have been struck by gales and lashing rains from Cyclone Remal, which hit India and Bangladesh on Sunday, killing at least 65 people.
Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department said the cyclone was “one of longest in the country’s history”, blaming climate change for the shift.
At least 24 die in India as cyclone Remal brings heavy rains
Heavy downpours have been reported from various parts of the region, covering seven states
At least 24 people were killed in landslides and flash floods as cyclone Remal hit India’s northeastern region, forcing Church groups to join government agencies in relief activities.
Seventeen people were killed in landslides across Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram state, on May 28 when a stone quarry collapsed.
Another six people were killed in West Bengal state, and its coastal areas suffered extensive damage to infrastructure and property, state officials said.
A 17-year-old boy was killed, and several others were injured amid heavy rains accompanied by strong winds in Assam in the impact of Remal officials said.
Several of the 17 people killed in Mizoram are Christians, according to Bishop Stephen Rotluanga of Aizawl, which covers the entire state.
The bishop told UCA News on May 29 that he is “afraid the causality could be more in the different parts of the state as heavy rain and storms are reported resulting in landslides, tree uprooting and felling, and property loss.”
However, no church has reported damages or property loss, the bishop said, adding, “The situation here is quite scary, but the government and local people are working hand in hand and helping with the relief and rescue work.”
The region has been facing such disasters “almost every year due to heavy rain and storms,” the bishop said, but the Christian “community here is very strong and stands for each other during difficult times.”
The Young Mizo Association, the largest non-profit organization of the Mizo tribal people, is present in all villages and mission stations and engages itself “in helping the people,” the prelate said.
Jonas Lakra, Caritas India Zonal Program Lead-Northeast region, told UCA News that besides the deaths in Mizoram, they also get reports of deaths and property destruction from other parts of the region. “But Mizoram is hardest hit,” he said.
Caritas India, the social service wing of the National Bishops' Conference, along with its diocesan partners, “are working at the ground level, assessing the situations and giving us feedback. Once the assessment is complete, Caritas India will plan the future course,” he said.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has announced a financial aid of 150 million Indian rupees (some US$1.8 million) to the landslide victims.
A state government spokesman said 400,000 rupees each will be given to the kin of those who died in the landslide.
The Mizoram government has ordered the closure of all schools and institutions, except those rendering essential services, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned on May 28 of extremely heavy rainfall across the state for a few days.
Several parts of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, witnessed traffic blockages because of waterlogged roads and uprooted trees.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on X that Cyclone Remal had caused much damage, but the loss of lives was relatively less due to timely government actions.
Heavy downpours have been reported from various parts of the region, covering seven states, three of which—Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya—have a Christian majority.
A state government official in Manipur said the rain-hit situation in the hilly Ukhrul region has led to widespread reports of landslides, including the sweeping away of electric poles at Phungreitang.
In Nagaland, Disaster Management authorities have cautioned against heavy rainfall and advised people not to venture out near rivers.
A heavy downpour is expected in the state's foothill areas this week.
Really a matter of grave concern for the people as well as the country planners -- Mr A Poddar, Kolkata
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