Severe heat wave does not end yet, the hottest May day in Delhi in 18 years

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The heat wave exacerbates the problems already experienced by the spread of the coronavirus. (AFP)

New Delhi:

India is experiencing a severe heat wave, the temperature reaching 50 degrees Celsius in Delhi and the hottest day of May for almost two decades.

The heat wave is expected to burn the northern parts for several more days, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Tuesday, “with severe heatwaves in isolated pockets.”

Met officials said Churu in Rajasthan was the hottest place on record Tuesday, at 50 degrees Celsius, while parts of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh melted in the 1940s.

Parts of the capital, New Delhi, recorded the hottest May day in 18 years, with mercury reaching 47.6 degrees Celsius.

No deaths have been reported so far this year, but last year the government said the heat has killed 3,500 people since 2015. There have been fewer deaths in recent years.

The country suffers from severe water shortages with tens of millions of people lacking running water and no air conditioning in summer.

Parts of Delhi and elsewhere regularly see scuffles when tankers arrive to deliver water. Last year, Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, made international headlines when it ran out of water.

The heat wave exacerbates the problems already experienced by the spread of the coronavirus.

India now has the 10th highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, exceeding 150,000 today with nearly 4,500 deaths.

Cyclone Amphan killed more than 100 people in India and Bangladesh last week, flattening villages, destroying farms and leaving millions of people without electricity.

Huge swarms of locusts have destroyed nearly 50,000 hectares (125,000 acres) of crops across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and may enter Delhi in the coming days.

Assam and Meghalaya are also experiencing floods, with more rain expected in the coming days.

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