Heat brings water shortage as death toll tops 1,800

Forecasting service warns of drought conditions even after rains arrive

Dizzying temperatures have killed hundreds more Indians over the past day, causing water shortages in thousands of villages and driving the death toll from a weekslong heat wave to at least 1,826 by Friday.

Meteorological officials called the heat wave "severe" and warned that it would continue for at least two days across a huge swath of the South Asian country, from Tamil Nadu in the south to the Himalayan foothill state of Himachal Pradesh.

Most of those killed by heat-related conditions, including dehydration and heat stroke, have been in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where 100 people died on Thursday as temperatures hovered about 43 C.

Thousands of water tankers were delivering supplies to more than 4,000 villages and hamlets facing acute water shortages, in the central state of Maharashtra, state water department officials told Press Trust of India.

People across India were also reporting scorched crops and dying wildlife, with some animals succumbing to thirst.

Indians were doing whatever they could to beat the heat, including staying in the shade, plunging into rivers, and drinking buttermilk, onion juice and plenty of water.

But many farmers and construction workers struggling with poverty were still working outdoors, despite the risks. They, along with the impoverished elderly, were among the most vulnerable, without access to air conditioners or sometimes even shade-giving trees.

Meanwhile, the weather department forecast that the heat wave will continue until Sunday.

"The heat wave warning has been extended for two more days," said Y.K. Reddy, who heads the weather office in Hyderabad.

Cooling monsoon rains are expected next week in the south before gradually advancing north.

However, forecasting service AccuWeather warned of prolonged drought conditions, with the monsoon likely to be disrupted by a more-active typhoon season over the Pacific.

"While there will be some rainfall in the region, the pattern could evolve into significant drought and negatively impact agriculture from central India to much of Pakistan," senior meteorologist Jason Nicholls at AccuWeather said in a statement.

AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/30/2015 page11)