South Asia heat wave kills at least 375
At least 375 people have died from sunstroke and dehydration in a month-long heat wave sweeping India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as South Asia endures one of its hottest summers on record, authorities said.
Temperatures hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in some parts of South Asia this week, parching fields, emptying dams and drying riverbeds ahead of the annual monsoon.
Freak weather extended as far as northern China, where the heat set off explosives at a chemical plant in Shanxi province that injured hundreds. In central Chongqing city, authorities opened old bomb shelters so people can cool off.
Worst hit was India’s impoverished eastern state of Orissa, where almost 100 people were reported killed from the heat.
Streets in the region emptied and many cities and villages resembled ghost towns as residents stayed indoors to avoid the sun. The state ordered government offices to close before noon.
“The heatwave along with occasional power-cuts had made life miserable here,” said Lingaraj Panda, a local resident.
Officials reported drinking water shortages in the giant Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as ponds and lakes dried up and villagers were forced to travel 10 km to 15 km (6 to 9 miles) to fetch water from deep wells.
Beer sales in New Delhi hit a record high with nearly 6 million bottles being sold in the first three weeks of this month as temperatures hit 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit).
India’s weather department says the June-September rains got off to a weak start, but initial showers are now being reported across southern India and Bombay.
The month-long heatwave also killed more than 100 people in neighboring Bangladesh, while in Pakistan more than 65 people died in the past week, including at least 24 believed killed over the last 24 hours from the heat, authorities said.
Villagers in Bangladesh held prayers in mosques and temples for rain - though not too much rain. Last year, devastating floods caused by monsoon rains in July-September killed more than 1,000 people and left about 10 million homeless.
“The monsoon is playing truant this year in Bangladesh as well as in India, scorching farmland and killing people,” one weather official said.
Tahir Ali Javed, Health Minister of Pakistan’s central Punjab province told Reuters all the fatalities have come in the province where temperatures soared to 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Temperatures shot up to 44 degree Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Tuesday - a four-year record.
At least 11 people have died in neighboring Nepal, a local media report said, but monsoon rains had now begun in most parts of the country.
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