Prolonged heatwave has killed over 100 people across the country
\n NEW DELHI
\nIndia recorded more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases this summer as a prolonged heatwave killed more than 100 people across the country, while parts of its northeast grappled with floods from heavy rain, authorities said.
\nBillions across Asia are grappling with extreme heat this summer in a trend scientists say has been worsened by human-driven climate change, with temperatures in north India soaring to almost 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in one of the longest heatwave spells recorded.
\nBirds fell from the skies due to extreme heat and hospitals reported an inflow of heat-affected patients as both day and night time temperatures peaked in recent weeks since the start of summer in March.
\nThe health ministry ordered federal and state institutions to ensure \u201cimmediate attention\u201d to patients, while hospitals in the capital Delhi, which is also facing a water shortage, were directed make more beds available.
\nA health ministry official said there were more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases and at least 110 confirmed deaths between March 1 and June 18, when northwest and eastern India recorded twice the usual number of heatwave days. The weather office has forecast above-normal temperatures for this month too, as authorities say Indian cities have become \u201cheat traps\u201d due to unbalanced growth.
\n\u201cDuring the ongoing heatwave, most bird rescue calls that we receive are due to birds falling from the skies,\u201d said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of the non-profit Wildlife SOS. \u201cIn the past two weeks, Wildlife SOS has been receiving more than 35-40 rescue calls daily, in and around Delhi-National Capital Region. Most of the calls include bird rescue requests.\u201d
\nSeparately, floods and landslides triggered by incessant rain in the northeastern state of Assam killed at least six people on Tuesday night, officials said.
\n\u201cA landslide buried a woman and her three daughters alive,\u201d a state disaster management official, Siju Das, said by telephone. \u201cTheir house was on a slope, and they died on the spot around midnight,\u201d he said, adding that the bodies were retrieved after a three-hour search operation by rescuers. \u201cA three-year-old was killed too.\u201d
\nIn Assam, more than 160,000 people were affected, with waters surpassing the danger level in the Kopili, one of the largest tributaries of the Brahmaputra, which ranks among India\u2019s biggest rivers. More than 30 people in the state have died since the end of May in floods and landslides brought by heavy rain, officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prolonged heatwave has killed over 100 people across the country NEW DELHI India recorded more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases this summer as a prolonged heatwave killed more than 100 people across the country, while parts of its northeast grappled with floods from heavy rain, authorities said. Billions across Asia are grappling with extreme heat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331080,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-413562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n