Hundreds Are Dying in a Blistering Heat Wave Sweeping Across India

[Recursion]

Source: Time

An intense heat wave that has driven daytime temperatures as high as 118°F (48°C) in parts of India has claimed over 400 lives.

The toll is the highest in the southeastern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper, which cited an official from Andhra Pradesh’s disaster-management department, who said the state had recorded nearly 250 deaths between Wednesday and Sunday.

In Telangana, state authorities reported 186 heat-related deaths since mid-April, with most being reported in recent days as temperatures spiked across the region. The highest reading was in Telangana’s Khamman district, where the temperature rose to 118°F on Sunday.

“Almost all the victims are old. Inquiries reveal that most of them were working and were exposed to the heat. Dehydration and heat stroke caused the deaths,” B.R. Meena, a senior Telangana state official, told the Indian Express newspaper.

Read more: http://time.com/3895471/hundreds-are-dying-in-a-blistering-heat-wave-sweeping-across-india/

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It's really, really hot...

[bananas]

1. no relief in next 4 days; climate change scenarios predict...

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/india-heat-wave-claims-hundreds-lives-scientists-predict-more-such-events-1502816

India: As heat wave claims hundreds of lives scientists predict more such events

By Jayalakshmi K
May 25, 2015 08:22 BST

...

"In the Indian capital particularly, no relief can be expected in the next four days. The heat wave will continue. The temperature in Pakistan is 50 degrees Celsius and the heat wave is coming from there," Director of Indian Meteorological Office B K Yadav told media.

...

Hyderabad in southern India experiences a maximum of five heat wave days a year. This could go up to as many as 40 days per year in the future, says a study entitled "Climate change scenarios for Hyderabad: Integrating uncertainties and consolidation" by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany.

The study on emerging megacities gave predictions up to 2100, taking into account emission levels.

...

Yet another collection of 22 studies "Explaining Extreme Events of 2013 From a Climate Perspective" clearly laid the blame for 2013's heat waves to human-induced climate change.

...

[Recursion]

2. Yep. And early rains (as a hotter ocean disrupts the monsoon cycle) have damaged crops

Mangoes are currently twice their normal price here (but no American wants to hear how cheap they still are... and damn they are good). We had rains in February, March, and April; it is unusual to have rain in even one of those months. Rain in all three is, as far as the old dudes at the tea stand tell me, unprecedented.

The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal monsoons are crucial to literally billions of people's livelihoods and lives, and they are unfortunately sensitive to climate change.

[daleanime]

3. kick, kick, kick.....

[Sunlei]

4. 118 and humid! India is way out of the 'safe zones'

<a href="http://www.livescience.com/34131-infographic-limits-of-human-survival.html"><img alt="" src="?1344571700" /></a>
URL

[NutmegYankee]

7. Checking the current weather, the Dew Point is 58 degrees

Which @110 F is about 18% humidity. That is pushing the red line at 25%.

People in the southeast often say that it's 100 degrees and 100% humidity, but that's an error. Relative humidity drops as the temperature increases. That's one reason why I prefer the dew point as the standard measurement. anything over 60 is humid. Over 70 is oppressive.

[tabasco]

10. Interesting chart

Thanks!

[WheelWalker]

5. Kicked and Recommended

[skamaria]

6. It's not climate change

So stop saying that. So sez Bob Boudalang.

[okaawhatever]

8. How sad. I hope they get relief soon. nt

[NutmegYankee]

9. That's insane. And a low in the 80's tonight.

Stay safe!

[Recursion]

13. It's OK here on the coast (just in the high 90s and low 100s)

The problem is the mountain range that's spilling the sea breeze back onto us is blocking it from the rest of the peninsula. Worse yet, as the monsoon approaches the pressure drops and what little breeze there still is dies. Monsoon is allegedly set for about June 10th in the south... can't come soon enough.

[AuntPatsy]

11. Frightening and incredibly sad..

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. India heatwave toll nears 800

The death toll in the heatwave sweeping India has reached nearly 800 with temperatures nearing 50C (122F) in some areas.

Most deaths have taken place in the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where more than 750 people have died since last week.

Reports say 24 people have died from the heat in West Bengal and Orissa.

Hospitals are on alert to treat heatstroke patients and authorities have advised people to stay indoors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-32880180

[Sgt Preston]

14. Monsoon season coming very soon.

That will cool things off. But then, the cure may be worse than the disease.

[Recursion]

15. Yeah, sadly it brings with it a week of low pressure and no air movement

That last week is the worst: you can see the clouds over the Arabian sea (at least here in Mumbai) but they just aren't moving here fast enough.

The current forecast sets June 10th as the day the rains should start in Mumbai, and they come earlier the farther south you go, so Telangana might get them by the 4th or 5th. But last year, by this time I could smell the rains on their way in, and I can't smell them now. Plus we had what they call "daily rains" (in the US, it's just what we call "rain", a normal rainshower) in both March and April, which is pretty much unheard of, so nobody's sure what's going to happen this season.

[Recursion]

17. Jesus. The Albert Schweitzer award goes to Nihil... (nt)

[geek tragedy]

23. vote was 4-3, btw. nt

[Recursion]

25. I considered alerting but was giving him the benefit of the doubt

[IcyPeas]

18. construction workers and migrants

are badly affected. they have no where to go for shelter. some are outside working in that heat!! Also I heard there are power outages too, so even if you are one of the lucky to have A/C is will be out at times.

118 degrees! The weather is crazy all over.

[Recursion]

22. India has some serious power distribution problems, particularly in the south and northeast.

India's power generation programs are actually amazing, and I wish the US would try some of them, but the distribution here is woefully lacking.

That said, air conditioning is completely a perk of being in the 1% here (which, remember, is 120 million people), so power outages aren't quite as devastating here as they are in more developed nations.

[IcyPeas]

19. Question: Why are people being told to drink buttermilk?

I heard this on the BBC news.

[Recursion]

20. It contains both water and salt

Clabbered milk ("buttermilk" may give Americans the wrong idea; it's unpasteurized milk that was left to clabber in relatively controlled circumstances) has a lot of water, a lot of fat, a lot of protein, and a lot of salt. It's a very good "superfood" when your worry is dying of heat prostration.

[IcyPeas]

21. thank you

[Recursion]

24. It's called "dahi" here, English "curd". Maybe "very wet sour cream" would be a good translation.

You usually have that with rice as your breakfast. I don't know; it's hard to describe. If you have a local Indian grocery store go ask for a pint of "dahi" and you'll see. It's actually very tasty once you get used to it.

The point is, when it's hot, people often skip meals, but the government is urging people to keep eating their normal dahi even though the heat saps your appetite.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. Nearly 1,200 people dead as heatwave sweeps India

A relentless heatwave sweeping large parts of India has killed nearly 1,200 people, with most deaths reported from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, even as forecasts warned that the intense weather conditions are expected to continued till the weekend.

The death toll in Andhra Pradesh rose to 852, with the scorching weather claiming 202 lives in Prakasam district alone, officials said. Another 266 deaths were reported in Telangana where Ramagundam city recorded a maximum temperature of 44.5°C.

A total of 67 deaths were reported in Odisha, according to ANI. Titlagarh recorded a temperature of 47.6°C, the season’s highest for the state.

Officials reported seven deaths in Gujarat’s capital Ahmedabad this month, with the civic body issuing an “orange alert”, indicating a prolonged heatwave with temperatures expected to rise to 43°C to 45°C over the next week.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/no-respite-from-blazing-summer-more-than-1-200-killed-as-heatwave-wreaks-havoc/article1-1351791.aspx