Nearly 100 people have died in India in recent days due to extreme heat. Report that local media. The deaths occurred in the country’s two most densely populated areas, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the eastern state of Bihar. Hundreds of people are in hospital. Temperatures of up to 43 degrees were recorded on Sunday. That oppressive heat is amplified by the relative humidity, which is 25 percent. Authorities are urging people to stay indoors.
Due to the heat in the country, the authorities canceled requests for leave from medical staff in the district of Ballia. The use of extra hospital beds should relieve the pressure on the emergency department. Although local doctors say the deaths are related to the high temperatures, Indian authorities refuse to make a direct connection to the heat wave. For example, a director of the district hospital in Ballia in Uttar Pradesh became Saturday removed from his position after stating that the deaths of 54 persons were caused by the heat. Health Minister Brijesh Pathak, without citing heat, said he had opened an investigation into the cause of death of “so many people” in Ballia.
According to Indian authorities, most of the dead are over the age of 60. It would mainly concern people with pre-existing health problems, whose situation has been exacerbated by the intense heat. Most of the admitted patients showed symptoms such as high fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, breathing difficulties and heart-related problems. A scientist from the Meteorological Department of India (IMD), speaks opposite The Guardian of “above-normal temperatures” and says it expects “no relief from the heat” for the next 24 hours.