The relentless, punishing heat in northern and central Telangana has claimed around a dozen lives in the last few days. Deaths were recorded in the Adilabad and Nizamabad region, where high temperatures were recorded. Heatwave conditions persisted throughout Thursday and Friday, making outdoor activities difficult during the day. In the last 24 hours, the Nirmal district recorded a maximum highest temperature of 45.4 °C recently.
It was in the same district that two brothers had lost their lives on the same day. The brothers, Shankar and Raju, had gone out during noon, and returned severely ill. Despite the family members taking them to hospital, they did not survive. Both were in their 40s, with heatstroke being reported as the cause of death. On Thursday, a youngster in his 20s also died. Health officials suspect that it was due to severe dehydration.
At least five other districts—Nizamabad, Jagtial, Adilabad, Mancherial and Komaram Bheem—recorded more than 45 °C on Friday. When compared to the exact date last year, temperatures have shot up by 2-3 °C during the current year. More than 10 districts in Telangana have recorded maximum highest temperatures of more than 43 °C.
A sunstroke death has also been reported from the Karimanagar district, where a farm labourer in his late 20’s died after attending to some work. Multiple deaths due to heat exhaustion have taken place in the Adilabad, Khammam, Nagarkurnool and Mahbubnagar districts. Telangana health officials have advised citizens to avoid direct sun at noon, to stay hydrated and to immediately seek medical help if heatstroke was suspected.
The IMD has also issued a heatwave warning for 6 districts of Telangana—Adilabad, Komaram bheem, Mancherial, Nirmal, Nizamabad and Kamareddy. The Telangana government has already declared heat wave as a ‘state specific disaster’, announcing a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs to the families of the deceased.
