Thursday, May 30, 2024

Feeling sorry for the subcontinent (again)

In India:

Temperatures in Delhi have hit a record high of 52.9C (127.2F), as authorities warned of water shortages in India’s capital.

A heatwave alert has been in place for large parts of India since last week, but on Wednesday the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the temperature in the suburb of Mungeshpur had passed 50C for the first time in the city.

The temperature was more than 9C higher than expected, the IMD said, and came on the second day of record-breaking heat. On Tuesday a high of 49.9C was hit in Mungeshpur and Narela, breaking the 2002 record of 49.2C....

Many blame the soaring temperatures on scorching winds from Rajasthan state, where temperatures on Tuesday reached 50.5C.

At the SMS hospital in Rajasthan’s capital, Jaipur, so many bodies of casualties of the heat have arrived at the mortuary that its capacity has been exceeded. Police in the city say many of the victims are poor labourers, who have no choice but to work outside, and homeless people.

(As I have said in previous years, it's always hard to believe that the death toll from heat in India during heatwaves is not higher than what is reported.)

Meanwhile, recently in Pakistan:

Temperatures rose above 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh, the highest reading of the summer and close to the country’s record high amid an ongoing heat wave, the met office said on Monday.  

Yes, as hellish as that sounds, the top temperature a few years ago was even worse:

The highest temperature recorded in Pakistan was in 2017 when temperatures rose to 54 C (129.2 F) in the city of Turbat, located in the Southwestern province of Balochistan. This was the second hottest in Asia and fourth highest in the world, said Sardar Sarfaraz, Chief Meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department


 

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