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Extreme heat kills at least 25 in India's Maharashtra state
(Reuters, 3 May 2022) Scientists have linked the early onset of an intense summer to climate change, and say more than a billion people in India and Pakistan are in some way vulnerable to the extreme heat.
India's western state of Maharashtra has registered 25 deaths from heat stroke since late March, the highest toll in the past five years, with more fatalities likely elsewhere in a country sweltering in temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius.
Scientists have linked the early onset of an intense summer to climate change, and say more than a billion people in India and neighbouring Pakistan were in some way vulnerable to the extreme heat.
With cooling monsoon rains only expected next month and increasingly frequent power outages in some parts of India, even households that can afford air conditioners will have little respite over the next several weeks.
Many of the deaths in Maharashtra occurred in the more rural areas of India's richest state.
"These are suspected heat stroke deaths," Pradeep Awate, a Maharashtra health official, told Reuters.
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Reuters, 3 May 2022: Extreme heat kills at least 25 in India's Maharashtra state
