Around 80 people have died in a heatwave in Bihar, India, as temperatures have hovered around 45 degrees Celsius for several days.
Bihar, with a population of 100 million in the northeastern part of the country, is one of the poorest in the country. The heat has hit the Magadh region, which was already suffering from drought.
"There was a rapid development on Saturday afternoon. People suffering from heatstroke were taken to various hospitals," says health policymaker Vijay Kumar.
Most of the victims died during the night and the following day, and more victims have continued to pour into hospitals, Kumar said. More than 130 people are receiving emergency treatment for heatstroke.
The heatwave has led to a state of emergency in some places. In Gaya district, residents are prohibited from carrying out non-essential work outdoors. Among other things, construction work is banned between 11 am and 4 pm.
The state is also hit by an outbreak of encephalitis, with 97 children dying from the disease in the past month. The outbreaks usually occur during the summer months and are believed to be linked to the stone fruit lychee, which is widely grown in Bihar. Lychee fruits contain a toxin that affects the body's ability to produce glucose.
Large parts of India are sweltering in the heat. Daytime temperatures have remained above 40 degrees Celsius for the past 32 days, approaching record levels. In the state of Rajasthan, temperatures recently reached 50.3 degrees Celsius, just shy of the country's record of 51 degrees Celsius.
Source: TT
