Eight places in the northern and central parts of India were among the list of 15 hottest places in the world on Monday, according to El Dorado Weather website.
Churu and Ganganagar in Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature of 48.9°C and 48.6°C on Sunday. Phalodi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, Nowgong and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh and Narnaul in Haryana were also on the list.
Severe heatwave conditions will persist over northwest, central and peninsular India over the next two days and gradually abate, the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
The Met department has forecast heatwave conditions in most parts and severe heatwave in isolated pockets over West Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It also warned of heat wave conditions in parts over East Rajasthan and in isolated pockets over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Saurashtra and Kutch, Vidarbha and Marathwada.
India Meteorological Department’s Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the situation was likely to improve in the next two days with rains and thunderstorms expected in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Hindustan Times reported. “The present heatwave is because of dry westerly winds gaining heat from deserts in Pakistan and Rajasthan,” Mohapatra said. “We expect the westerlies to lose steam as winds from Bay of Bengal and north-west will take over and bring relief...”
In Rajasthan, a farmer died of sunstroke in Rajasthan on Sunday as the maximum temperature recorded was 44°C or above in several parts in the state, PTI reported. According to a report in The Times of India, three people died of sunstroke on Sunday.
An unidentified police official said Hanuman Jat, a farmer, fainted in his farm at Necchwa in Sikar district and was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. “The cause of the death was heatstroke,” the police official said.
A police constable in Jodhpur, Leeladhar Meena, complained of nausea and vomiting and died while he was undergoing treatment. A policeman on duty in Jalore, Balram Meghwal, also reportedly died of heatstroke, The Times of India reported.
Meanwhile, two people died in Gujarat on Sunday due to heatstroke – one in Meghraj taluka of Sabarkabtha district and another in Jerome taluka of Rajkot district, The Hindu reported. Over 300 people affected by excessive heat and dehydration have been hospitalised.
Surendranagar town recorded a temperature of 45.3°C, while state capital Gandhinagar recorded 45°C. Ahmedabad experienced a high temperature of 44.4°C, while five other districts recorded temperatures between 43 and 44°C.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation issued an orange alert asking people to stay indoors between 12 pm and 5 pm.
However, thunderstorms and dust storms are likely in some parts of the country, including Delhi, on Monday. This is expected to bring down the temperatures marginally. The IMD has forecast widespread rain over parts of east India, northeastern and south peninsular India from June 7 to June 9 and isolated heavy falls over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, south interior Karnataka and Kerala.
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