"NEW DELHI - India's western state of Maharashtra has registered 25 deaths from heat stroke since late March, the highest toll in the past five years, with more fatalities likely elsewhere in a country sweltering in temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius.
Scientists have linked the early onset of an intense summer to climate change, and say more than a billion people in India and neighbouring Pakistan were in some way vulnerable to the extreme heat.
With cooling monsoon rains only expected next month and increasingly frequent power outages in some parts of India, even households that can afford air conditioners will have little respite over the next several weeks. read more
Many of the deaths in Maharashtra occurred in the more rural areas of India's richest state."
Devjyot Ghoshal and Jatindra Dash report for Reuters May 3, 2022.
SEE ALSO:
"India And Pakistan Heatwave Is 'Testing The Limits Of Human Survivability,' Expert Says" (CNN)
"Heat Wave Sparks Blackouts, Questions On India's Coal Usage" (Phys.org)
"After Five Record Crops, Heat Wave Threatens India's Wheat Output, Export Plans" (Reuters)
"‘We Are Living In Hell’: Pakistan And India Suffer Extreme Spring Heatwaves" (Guardian)
