Several parts of India is in grips of severe heat wave

Many cities are recording temperatures normally seen in May and June. Apart from Maharashtra, heat waves were recorded at several places in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, south Haryana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bengal. Severe heat wave conditions, where temperatures are at least seven degrees higher than normal, were seen in parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

“So far two people, one each in Aurangabad and Solapur districts, are reported to have died ,“ state health minister Deepak Sawant told. A Maharashtra health official denied some media reports about five heat wave deaths in the state and said, “Deaths due to other causes could have been counted and connected with the heat wave.“

The scorching conditions across the state, which has seen temperatures touch 46.5 degrees Celsius in Bhira in Raigad district and 44 degrees in Akola, was raised in the legislative council on Thursday .

In



Rajasthan, heat continued to break records, with the mercury surging up to 43.4 degrees Celsius in Barmer and Churu on Thursday . Temperatures in the state had shot up to 44.4 degrees Celsius on Monday , which broke the record of 43.3 degrees Celsius for the month of March that had stood since March 1946.Jaipur was at 41.4 degrees, a 10year high.

The Met department has predicted severe heat wave conditions for the next 48 hours.

Uttar Pradesh reported heat wave conditions in several parts of the state on Thursday , with maximum temperatures 5-6 degrees above normal. In Lucknow, the temperature soared to 41.1 degrees C, highest in the month of March in 15 years.Banda was the hottest spot in the state with a maximum temperature of 43.6 degrees Celsius, followed by Allahabad with 42.3, Jhansi 41.6 and Varanasi 41.5.State Met director J P Gupta said similar conditions will prevail till Sunday-Monday.