 "What’s behind Delhi heatwave which has left five dead? Is relief in sight?")
A brutal heatwave has left five dead in Delhi and sent dozens to the hospital over the past few days, according to several media reports.
The maximum day temperature was recorded at 43.6 degrees Celsius, 4.8 notches above the season’s average.
Not only is the city burning up during the day, it is also unseasonably hot at night.
The National Capital on Wednesday recorded its warmest night in a dozen years with a minimum temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius.
The previous warmest night recorded in the city was in June 2012 when the minimum temperature was recorded at 34 degrees Celsius.
This came just a day after the city had recorded its warmest night of the season at 33.8 degrees Celsius.
This comes in the backdrop of the city suffering a water crisis.
But what happened and why? And when can Delhi expect relief?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened and why?
According to Outlook, the heatwave has left five people dead in the past 48 hours at several Delhi hospitals.
This, as dozens of patients have been admitted with complaints of heat stroke and exhaustion.
Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital alone has taken in 36 patients complaining of heatwave-related illnesses.
Of these, 12 are on life support.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“The victims did not have any co-morbidities. When such people come to the hospital, their core body temperature is recorded and, if it is found more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit and there is no other cause, they are declared as heatstroke patients. Those who succumb to heatstroke are declared as ‘suspected heatstroke’. There is a committee of the Delhi government that later confirms the deaths," a senior hospital official said.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital (LNJP) has seen four patients die of suspected heatstroke.
“There were two deaths on Tuesday due to suspected heatstroke and two casualties on Wednesday. There are 16 heatstroke patients admitted,” said a hospital official.
One of the victims, aged around 39, died during treatment on 15 June.
He was a motor mechanic who collapsed while working at his shop in Janakpuri. He was brought in with high-grade fever.
The hospital has seven patients admitted with extremely high fever – of whom five are on ventilators.
Three of these patients are above the age of 65.
LNJP Hospital managing director Dr Suresh Kumar told India Today most of the people admitted were labourers or rickshaw pullers.
Most of them were over 60 years of age, Kumar added.
He said they were suffering from electrolyte deficiency, heat stroke, fever of more than 105 degrees and extreme dehydration.
Meanwhile Dr Gaurav Kumar, who runs a clinic in Paharganj, told the outlet the number of people affected by the heatwave has doubled in the last month.
He too said rickshaw pullers and daily labourers were worst-hit.
At the Safdarjung Hospital, there have been a total of 60 heatstroke cases, including 42 who have been admitted. The hospital has reported six casualties, including a 60-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man who died on Tuesday.
The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi is witnessing 30 to 35 heatstroke cases at its outpatient department (OPD) daily.
“At the OPD, medical facilities are reporting between 30 to 35 cases weekly related to heat-induced ailments. These include conditions such as heat cramp and heat exhaustion," said Dr Atul Kakar, chairperson of the hospital’s Department of Internal Medicine.
“This surge in cases highlights the importance of public awareness about heat safety measures, including staying hydrated, seeking shade during peak sun hours, and understanding the signs of heat-related distress. Healthcare providers are on alert, ensuring prompt and effective treatment to manage and mitigate the impact of rising temperatures on public health," he added.
NDTV quoted Dr Ajay Shukla, the medical superintendent of the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, as saying that the mortality rate for heatstroke cases can be as high and 60 to 70 per cent.
Shukla said people aren’t able to diagnose the symptoms of a heatstroke.
“If the patient is brought late to the hospital, one organ after the other starts failing. There is a lack of awareness. A lot of these patients are migrant labourers. Also, the symptoms (of heatstroke) can be easily missed or mistaken for something else. It’s only when patients faint that their relatives feel that hospitalisation is needed”, he added.
A senior hospital official said patients sometimes collapse due to dehydration.
They also suffer from very high fever, which causes the body temperature to reach 106 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit, he added.
Doctors have advised the elderly and immuno-compromised patients to avoid stepping outdoors.
Why is this happening?
According to Economic Times, the heatwave conditions in Delhi can be chalked up to warm winds blowing from neighbouring arid regions into India as well as fewer thundershowers.
Business Standard reported that the dry and warm westerly winds from Rajasthan and southern Haryana are the chief cause of the situation in Delhi.
The higher night-time temperatures are a result of these winds remaining overnight.
It also stated that a western disturbance has caused partly cloudy skies.
This in turn traps the heat during the day and halts night-time cooling.
When it comes to the larger picture of temperatures reaching record highs around India, scientists say climate change is to blame.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that the world is likely to cross the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold in the next five year – making things worse.
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday held an emergency meeting with the heads of hospitals and directed them to scale up beds for patients of heat-related illnesses.
During the meeting, it was decided that Delhi Police beat officers and patrolling teams will be requested help in shifting homeless to shelter homes in case they are found on the footpath.
Bharadwaj said in a post on X, “Chaired an emergency meeting with heads of all major hospitals regarding Heat stroke patients Delhi Police beat officers/ patrolling teams will be requested help in shifting homeless to shelter homes in case they are lying under open sky. Department is sending communication to Delhi Police Commissioner to ask their patrolling teams to call Ambulances in case their teams spot destitute is running high fever or sick.
“Hospitals to scale up the beds for patients of heat related illnesses. Circular issued to Hospitals & CATS Ambulance service. Fresh advisory to be advertised in Radio and Newspapers,” the minister added.
Bharadwaj had last month said that the Delhi government-run hospitals will reserve two beds each for heatstroke patients while five beds will be reserved at the LNJP Hospital.
When can Delhi expect relief?
It should get a little relief fairly soon.
According to Economic Times, the IMD said Delhi is set to receive light rainfall in the next few days – giving it some relief.
The IMD’s seven-day forecast, which put Delhi on ‘red alert’ on Monday and Tuesday, predicted a ‘yellow alert’ for today and tomorrow.
It forecast ‘green alert’ for Friday and Saturday.
After Wednesday, a fresh western disturbance will approach northwest India, also affecting the national capital and bringing relief, according to the weather office.
“A western disturbance seen as a cyclonic circulation lies over north Pakistan and neighbourhood in lower and middle tropospheric levels. Under its influence, isolated to scattered light rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) is very likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand during 19th-23rd and over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during 19th-21st June, 2024,” it said.
The IMD’s Soma Sen told ANI the city could witness pre-monsoon showers thanks to southwesterly winds.
However, the real relief won’t come until the arrival of the Monsoon.
The IMD has predicted that the Monsoon l hit Delhi only around 30 June.
The city’s power consumption on Wednesday afternoon touched a record 8,647 megawatts (MW)
The previous high came on 29 May when the power consumption hit 8,302 MW.
Delhi’s peak power demand first crossed 8,000 MW on 22 May, 2024.
Meanwhile, Delhi water minister Atishi on Wednesday said that she has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the water crisis in the National Capital.
Atishi has warned she will go on an indefinite hunger strike from June 21 if the issue is not resolved within a couple of days.
Atishi said Delhi is grappling with a water crisis since Haryana is not releasing the capital’s share of water and claimed that over 28 lakh people are affected.
“We have to understand that the total water supply in Delhi is 1,050 MGD. Out of this 1,050 MGD, 613 MGD comes to the Yamuna from Haryana.
“The amount of water that was supposed to come from Haryana yesterday, that is, on June 18, which was 613 MGD, has come down to 513 MGD. This means that Delhi is facing a water shortage of 100 MGD today,” she said.
The BJP slammed Atishi, with its Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva accusing her of indulging in “theatrics” to distract attention from theft and black marketeering of water, and demanded that the AAP government be sacked for its “inaction.”
With inputs from agencies
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