45 die in Andhra heatwave, two more succumb in Telangana
Hospitals, health department put in alert to cope with situation
Hyderabad: Like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh is also burning under a blazing summer sun.
With many parts of the state in the grip of heatwave conditions, 45 people have died due to sunstroke, state deputy Chief Minister S Chinna Rajappa said.
After reviewing the situation with senior officials in Hyderabad Thursday, he said the state government has put the hospitals and health department officials on alert to deal with the heatwave related cases, he said.
Kadapa district in Rayalaseema region was the worst affected by the heatwave and has recorded 16 deaths. Prakasham has registered 11 deaths and four deaths were reported from Anantapur.
He urged the donors to come forward to set up cool drinking water points for the people. He also appealed to people to avoid exposure to the sun.
Neighbouring Telangana, which was also in the grip of heatwave conditions, has already recorded 68 deaths. Two more deaths due to sunstroke were reported from Ranga Reddy and Adilabad district on Thursday.
According to the meteorological department, the temperature in both the Telugu states was five to six degrees above normal and there was no sign of any immediate respite though some places, including Nizamabad, received thundershowers yesterday. The brief spell of rain along with the storm in Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nizamabad on Wednesday evening came as a big relief to the people. However the other districts were in the grip of high temperature.
Officials and experts have attributed the unprecedented summer heat in early April to the local factors as well as the prevailing effect of El Nino.
Director, Meteorological Depatment, Hyderabad Y K Reddy said that whereas the two states had 13 heatwave days last year, the number of days were likely to double this year. “In fact the maximum temperature was likely to cross 48 degrees Celsius at some places this year”, he said.
This was likely to have serious implications for Telangana which was experiencing third straight year of drought.
