NEW DELHI – More than 50 people died of heatstroke in different parts of India, particularly eastern, central and northern areas, over the past few days, as an intense heat wave swept across most parts of the South Asian country, said local media reports and government officials on Friday.

Nearly 200 people have been hospitalized after they collapsed due to heatstroke. Most of the deaths, around 25, took place in the eastern state of Bihar alone. Besides, similar deaths were reported from Delhi, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the central state of Madhya Pradesh, the eastern states of Odisha and Jharkhand, and the western state of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan’s Minister of Disaster Management and Relief Kirodi Lal Meena confirmed five human deaths due to heatstroke in his state. Media reports suggested that at least a dozen people had died in the state amid unbearable weather conditions. Over the past few days, the mercury soared to as high as nearly 53 degrees Celsius, particularly in parts of Delhi and Rajasthan. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), this was around eight to 10 degrees Celsius above normal in the country during this part of the year.

“Prevailing heat wave conditions over northwest, central and east India are likely to abate gradually during the next two to three days,” said the IMD in a press release issued during the day. Private news agency ANI reported that six security personnel on election duty died due to excessive heat in Mirzapur area of Uttar Pradesh. The last and final phase of ongoing General Elections in the country is scheduled to take place on Saturday. An adequate number of security personnel were deployed at places where polling was scheduled to take pace. The report quoted the principal of a medical college R.B. Lal as saying, “A total of 23 security personnel have come to us. Six security personnel have lost their lives, two others are in serious condition. The deceased had a high-grade fever.”

Similarly, some security personnel collapsed due to heatstroke in the state of Bihar too. More than 10 people have died from heatstroke in the eastern state of Odisha over the past two days. A media report by “Outlook” quoted a local hospital official as saying that the body-temperatures were around 103-104 Fahrenheit, which was very high considering the prevailing weather conditions. “This could be the possible reason behind the deaths. The history could not be studied as they arrive dead,” she reportedly said. (Xinhua)…[+]