In Maharashtra, two persons lost their lives as the first phase of summer in India hits the state on Friday. Maharashtra has also received warning from the Met department of a “moderate heat wave” in some areas. Many parts of Maharashtra recorded a maximum of 40 degree Celsius and above as the first heat wave of 2017 strikes the state.
In the summer of 2016, 9 people lost their lives due to heat stoke here as per official government data. The three people were Balchanda Chaudhari from Jalgaon, Rupatai Missal from Beed and Prasanna Birajdar from Solapur, according to information from Dr Mukund Diggikar, joint director of the Directorate of Health Services in Maharashtra. The state has a Heat Action Plan formulated last year. This will be the first year of implementation of the plan.
“The sudden rise in temperature has claimed lives of two persons. Both were above 60 years. One is from Aurangabad while another is from Solapur district,” Health Minister Deepak Sawant said as per News Nation reports.
“The Health Ministry has issued instructions to all the state-run hospitals to open centres for sunstroke patients. Government-run hospitals, primary health centres and district health officers have been categorically asked to sensitise people about ‘heat therapy’ and avoiding exposure to the scorching sun,” Sawant added.
The India Meteorological Department says that north-central Maharashtra,comprising of Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Nashik and some districts from Marathwada, will face ‘moderate wave’ for the next two days. Alerts have been issued to these regions.
“We have issued an alert of moderate heat wave for this region. It means the temperature during the day would be higher by 2-3 degrees Celsius than normal,” V K Rajeev, director, IMD, western region. The India Meteorological Department has also been issuing heat wave warnings across northern, western and central regions of India, particularly in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
