Heatwave toll rises to 500 in Andhra and Telengana
25 May 2015
The toll due to intense heatwave sweeping Telangana and Andhra Pradesh crossed 500 today even as sweltering heat wave conditions continued in various parts of the country, causing death of over 550 people so far.
In Telangana, 215 people died of extreme heat since 15 May while in Andhra Pradesh the toll stood at 302 till this evening and data from different districts was still being compiled, sources at the disaster management agencies of the two states said.
Temperatures have been hovering around 45 degrees Celsius in both the states for the last few days. A bulletin from the MeT department said Ramagundam, Nalgonda and Khammam recorded 45 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours as per the observations recorded at 8.30 AM today.
In the national capital Delhi it was the hottest day, recording 45.5 degree Celsius.
Day temperature in several other places hovered around the 45 degree C mark with the industrial town of Angul in Odisha recording a maximum temperature of 47 degree Censius.
The Palam observatory in Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 46.4 degrees.
Meanwhile, weather forecasts pointed to some respite from the sweltering heat tomorrow with dust storm and thunder storm.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed the state administration to open camps for providing drinking water and butter milk as a measure of protection against the severe heat conditions.
He also appealed to the general public to avoid sun from 11 AM to 4.30 PM, if possible.
In Odisha, the prevailing heat wave conditions further intensified across the state with the industrial town of Angul recording a maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius even as the Odisha government confirmed four deaths due to sunstroke.
With no indication of respite from the gruelling heat in next five days, at least six major towns registered temperatures above 46 degrees and in 18 towns mercury crossed the 40 degree mark. The state capital of Bhubaneswar recorded a high of 45.4 degrees today against yesterday's 45 degrees.
The heat here was uncomfortable as the relative humidity remained at 91 per cent. ''High temperature along with high humidity level caused a painful hot summer in the state capital,'' said S C Sahu, the director of IMD, Bhubaneswar.
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