Temperatures topped 48 degrees Celsius as a heat wave gripped large swathes of northern, western and central India, news reports and officials said on Friday.
The Indian Meteorological Department said there were “heat wave to severe heat wave conditions’’ across the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as well as the western Maharashtra and central Madhya Pradesh states.
The highest temperature of the summer season was recorded in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, where the mercury shot up to 48.8 degrees Celsius, private forecasting agency Skymet Weather said on Twitter.
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“The capital New Delhi recorded the hottest temperature in May since 2013 at 46.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
“Heat wave conditions were expected to continue until at least Tuesday in most of these parts,’’ officials said.
They asked people to avoid going outdoors in the afternoon, keep their heads covered, wear loose clothing and drink lots of fluids.
No fewer than 2,000 people died in India and 1,200 in Pakistan during the heat wave in South Asia in 2015, when temperatures hovered near 50 degrees Celsius in some areas. (NAN)