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Sizzling summer claims over 2,000 lives

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 20:55 IST

The sizzling heat wave continued to claim lives, with 56 more deaths being reported from Telangana since Friday, raising the nationwide toll to 2,061.

Bicycle rickshaw drivers sleep atop their rickshaws at dawn on a hot summer day in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI

The overall toll in various parts of the country on Friday stood at 2005.

The heat wave was witnessed in many parts of the country but Nagpur in Maharashtra recorded the highest temperature of 47.1 degree Celsius.

In Telangana, the toll due to the heat wave rose to 541 at 5 pm on Saturday, with 52 more deaths being reported during the last 24 hours, said a senior official of the state disaster management department. The toll in the state was 489 on Friday.

A worker takes a bath from the water of a bore pump on a hot summer day in Gurgaon. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters

The worst hit Andhra Pradesh has reported 1, 490 deaths. The toll in Odisha also rose to 21 from 17 since Friday. Seven deaths have so far been reported from Gujarat and two from Delhi.

Since April 15, Nalgonda district in Telangana has recorded maximum number of 139 deaths, followed by Karimnagar with 120, Khammam with 95 and Mahabubnagar with 42 deaths.

Heat wave has claimed 36 lives in Ranga Reddy district followed by 35 in Medak district, 26 in Adilabad, 20 in Warangal, 18 in Nizamabad, and 10 in Hyderabad.

In Odisha, the Special Relief Commissioner’s office received reports of 108 deaths allegedly due to sun stroke. However, only 21 have been confirmed as death due to heat stroke.