The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh as the country continues to face heatwave conditions. According to the Meteorological Department, Lucknow, a ‘Take Action’ alert has been issued for four districts.
In eastern Uttar Pradesh, heatwave to severe heatwave is likely to occur at several places during the same period, accompanied by warm nights. As of now, red alert is active in areas Panda, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, and Kaushambi.
On Wednesday, Banda district recorded the highest temperature in the country at 48 degrees Celsius, while Prayagraj recorded 46.4 degrees Celsius.
Hamirpur district recorded 46.2 degrees Celsius, and Jhansi district recorded 45.9 degrees Celsius. Moreover, temperatures in several districts, including Aligarh, Varanasi and Hardoi, remained above 43 degrees Celsius.
Read also | Extreme heat and warm, restless nights: what’s driving India’s extreme heatwave
Meanwhile, Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Mathura and other districts of UP have issued orange alert due to the heatwave.
Dry winds and radiative heating exacerbate the heat
According to IMD Lucknow, absence of any active weather system, enhanced radiative heating due to clear skies and dry weather, and descending hot winds associated with an anticyclone over central India have worsened heat conditions in Uttar Pradesh.
The Met Office added that dry weather conditions are likely to persist across the state, accompanied by warm nights.
Delhi records first case of heatstroke amid orange alert
Meanwhile, for Delhi, the IMD has already implemented a heatwave alert, with high temperatures and warm nights expected during the week.
Besides extreme heatwave conditions, the IMD has also forecast strong surface winds across the national capital.
Amid sweltering temperatures in Delhi, the national capital also recorded its first cases of heatstroke.
A 24-year-old man, who was traveling by train, was rushed to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in an unconscious condition on Thursday, and remains in a critical condition.
“The patient’s condition remains very serious. So, through you, I would like to inform everyone that heatstroke, also known as loo lagna, is an extremely life-threatening condition. In view of the Meteorological Department’s alert, all viewers should be careful and consume salt water and other similar medicines frequently,” Dr Ajay Chauhan, nodal officer at RML Hospital, told news agency ANI.
Hours later, the hospital reported another case of heatstroke, after a 50-year-old man was admitted Thursday morning after police admitted him unconscious due to extremely high body temperature.
According to hospital officials, doctors immediately put the man on a ventilator and began cooling him down with ice water.
