India has been under the grip of a devastating heat wave for the past few months. Since April this year several parts of the country have seen abnormally high temperatures. For instance, Bengaluru recorded a maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius on a Sunday, the city’s hottest April day since 2016. The city and parts of Southwestern regions of the country have experienced relief with the arrival of monsoon.
However, conditions appear to be dire in North, Central and Eastern India. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued multiple heatwave warnings since May in parts of North Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar and UP. This is considered one of the longest heatwaves that the country has experienced.
Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius have changed working patterns, shutdown schools and workplaces. Worse, 25,000 people have suffered from heatstroke and over 61 have lost their lives.
Why is this happening? Who is it affecting the most? And what do we do about the heat? We are going to try and answer all these questions in this three-part series.
In Part 1 of this video series, we explain what a heatwave is, why it’s happening and what the government is doing about it.