India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday warned that the severe heatwave is likely to continue over north Indian plains, central and South India for two more days. In the meantime, weather monitoring website El Dorado reported that of the 15 hottest places in the world in the past 24 hours, eleven were in India with the others in neighbouring Pakistan.
According to the IMD, Rajasthan’s Churu recorded the highest temperature of 48.9 degrees Celsius on Monday. On the other hand, El Dorado put the temperature at 50.3 degrees of Churu. It is to be noted that Churu is known as the gateway to the Thar Desert.
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Churu has issued a heat wave advisory and government hospitals have prepared emergency wards with extra air conditioners, coolers and medicines, said Ramratan Sonkariya, additional district magistrate for Churu.
“Water is also being poured on the roads of Churu to keep the temperature down and prevent them from melting,” Sonkariya added.
The state government officials said that a farmer from Rajasthan's Sikar died on Sunday due to heatstroke.
The temperature in Delhi touched 44.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Food delivery app, Zomato, asked its customers to greet delivery staff with a glass of cold water.
According to the IMD, the monsoon is likely to begin on the southern coast on June 6.
The three-month, pre-monsoon season, which ended on May 31, was the second driest in the last 65 years, private forecaster Skymet, said, with a national average of 99 mm of rain against the normal average of 131.5 mm for the season.
(With inputs from NDTV)