Since May 2024, a severe and long heat wave has impacted India.[1] The heat wave occurred during the Indian dry season, which typically lasts from March to July with peak temperatures in April and May. Rajasthan's Churu recorded 50.5 °C (122.9 °F), which was the highest temperature in India in eight years.[2]
A temperature of 52.9°C recorded in Mungeshpur, Delhi, originally thought to be record-breaking, turned out to be roughly 3°C too high due to a faulty sensor.[3][4]
Casualties
As of 3 June, there were 219 deaths from the heat wave,[5] and 25,000 others suffered from heatstroke.[6] The dead included 33 workers who stationed on election duty when India was conducting the seventh and last phase of its general election.[7] There were 147 reported deaths in the state of Odisha, and 12 more in Rajasthan.[5]
In Rajasthan, temperatures reached 50 °C (122 °F) in Churu, Sirsa and Phalodi, while Delhi's Mungeshpur, Narela and Najafgarh also neared 50 °C on 28 May.[8][9] There were more than twice as many heatwave days recorded in northwestern and eastern parts of the country than usual, mainly due to fewer non-monsoon thundershowers and warm winds blowing from neighbouring arid regions into India.[6] IMD data showed that Delhi recorded its warmest night ever at a minimum temperature of 35.2 °C (95.36 °F).[10]
Indian authorities reported over 40,000 cases of heatstroke through the country during the heat wave.[11]
Impact
Due to the intense heat increasing water consumption and lowering river levels, New Delhi is currently suffering from a water crisis requiring water tankers to be driven into distribution points in order to provide hydration to citizens whose taps ran dry.[12]
The intense, prolonged increase in temperature caused many manufacturing companies to lower working hours during the month of May, contributing to a national three-month low in the rate of increase in new orders.[13]
Due to increased usage of electricity for cooling, the All India Power Engineers Federation warned of potential blackouts and loss of power on 18 June 2024.[14]
