NEW DELHI: At least nine people have died of suspected heat stroke in India’s western state of Rajasthan, media said on Friday (May 24), with temperatures expected to soar further amid predictions of a severe heat wave.
Searing heat in the country’s north has been a cause of concern during a mammoth general election, and the capital, New Delhi, is set to vote on Saturday in temperatures forecast to be around 45 degrees Celsius.
India’s summer temperatures often peak in May, but scientists have predicted more heatwave days than usual this year, largely caused by fewer non-monsoon thundershowers and an active but weakening El Nino weather phenomenon.
At least nine deaths in Rajasthan were suspected to have resulted from people falling sick in the sweltering heat, local media said.
The state’s disaster management officials told Reuters they had yet to ascertain the cause, as medical examinations were not complete.
