Heat Wave: Heat will increase further in India, Meteorological Department warns, mercury reaches 48 degrees

A large part of India is struggling with the scorching heat these days and now the Meteorological Department has increased the concern by saying that the temperature will increase further in the coming days. On Wednesday, the mercury reached 48 degrees Celsius in Barmer, Rajasthan, which is the highest in the country so far this year. Due to the heat, water sources are drying up, which may increase the drinking water crisis. In Delhi, electricity consumption has reached 8 thousand MW.

temperature wreaking havoc

According to the Meteorological Department, at least 24 places in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh recorded maximum temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. In Rajasthan, the maximum temperature was recorded at 48 degrees Celsius in Barmer, 47.4 degrees Celsius in Churu, 47.8 degrees in Phalodi, and 47.2 degrees Celsius in Jaisalmer. The maximum temperature was recorded at 45 degrees in Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, 44.8 degrees in Akola in Maharashtra, 47.7 degrees in Sirsa in Haryana, 46.6 degrees in Bathinda in Punjab, 46.1 degrees in Kandla in Gujarat and 45 degrees in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

There is a possibility of further increase in the next few days

The Meteorological Department has predicted a rise of three to four degrees in north-west India in the next few days, which may worsen the situation. The Meteorological Department has issued a red heat alert for Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Western Uttar Pradesh. People have been forced to avoid heat and not go out in the sun because the risk of getting sick and heat stroke is very high. Especially for the next four days, nights will be hot in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan. High temperature at night is considered dangerous because it does not give the body a chance to cool down.

Increased crisis of drinking water and electricity

The extreme heat is putting pressure on power grids and drying up water sources, causing drought-like conditions in some parts of the country. Water storage in India's 150 major reservoirs fell to its lowest level in five years last week, according to the Central Water Commission, increasing water scarcity in many states and significantly impacting hydropower generation. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1,66,000 people died as a result of heatwaves between 1998 and 2017. The Union Health Ministry had told Parliament in July last year that 3,812 deaths were due to heatwaves in India between 2015 and 2022, with Andhra Pradesh alone accounting for 2,419 deaths.

People are less productive during hot weather and children struggle to learn. 75 percent of the workers in India are troubled by the heat, due to the increasing heat and humidity, it is feared that by the end of this decade, the heat will reduce India's gross domestic product (GDP) by 4.5 percent (equivalent to about 150-250 billion US dollars). There may be a loss.