Temperatures pushed towards 50 degrees Celsius across much of India yesterday as an unrelenting heatwave triggered warnings of water shortages and left locals fearing for their livelihoods.
Rajasthan recorded 49.6 Celsius on Friday - India’s hottest day of the year so far, the weather department said.
Water and health warnings have been issued with temperatures hovering around 47 Celsius across many western, northern and southern states, with no letup in sight for at least two more days.
In the capital, New Delhi, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a red alert extreme weather warning as temperatures hit 47 Celsius.
It said residents should not go out during the hottest hours of the day. Several cities have reported fears of water shortages as lakes and rivers start to dry up.
In Maharashtra, farmers struggled to find water for thirsty animals and crops.
“We have to source water tankers from nearby villages as water reserves, lakes and rivers have dried up,” said Rajesh Chandrakant, a resident of Beed, one of the worst-hit districts.
“Farmers only get water every three days for their livestock.”
Raghunath Tonde, a farmer with a family of seven, said the area has suffered worsening shortages for five years.
“There is no drinking water available for days on end and we get one tanker every three days for the entire village,” Tonde said.
“We are scared for our lives and livelihood.” he added.
The Hindustan Times newspaper said many Beed residents had stopped washing and cleaning clothes due to the water shortage.
Tamil Nadu capital Chennai too is facing an acute water crisis with a 40% cut in piped water supply.
Several reservoirs around Chennai that act as a primary source for drinking water supply have gone dry following a deficit monsoon last year. The city currently receives 550mn litres of water (MLD) every day against the required 800 MLD.
Along with the shortage of water, residents in several areas claim that the water they receive has a foul smell almost as if it was “mixed with sewage”.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Forest Department found 14 turtles dead in a dried up pond in the desert district of Kutch, officials said .
The officials rushed to the pond in Gagodar village in Rapar on Thursday evening and rescued 15 other turtles, while recovering the 14 carcasses.
They said the turtles possibly perished after the pond had dried up due to extreme heat conditions with temperatures hovering around 45 degrees Celsius.
This was the first time that the pond had dried up because the authorities did not pump water in it.
The rescued turtles were shifted to another pond in Thanisara village, which had sufficient water. Water from the Narmada dam was recently pumped into this pond.
More than 40% of India faces drought this year, experts from Gandhinagar city’s Indian Institute of Technology, warned last month.
The annual monsoon - which normally brings much needed rain to South Asia - is running a week behind schedule and is only expected to hit India’s southern tip on June 6, the weather department said.
And private forecaster Skymet has said there will be less rain than average this year.
The Indian peninsula has seen a drastic change in rainfall patterns over the past decade, marked by frequent droughts, floods and sudden storms.
Also, a prolonged dry spell and abnormally high temperatures have set off alarm bells for the forest department in Himachal Pradesh over forest fires causing huge damage to flora and fauna every year.
Though no major forest fires have been reported so far, smoke from fires has started blanketing the skyline of the state capital Shimla and also in the hills around Kasauli, Chail, Dharampur, Bilaspur, Kangra, Hamirpur, Dharamsala and Palampur towns.
“We have identified 23 fire-sensitive forest divisions across the state where a team of at least four Home Guard personnel have been deployed to monitor and control forest fires till June 30,” an official said.
He said Home Guard soldiers, who are trained by the state Disaster Management Authority and provided with fire-resistance kits, including special uniforms, are part of a dedicated Quick Response Team Task Force, which is formed to extinguish forest fires.