AHMEDABAD: A heatwave is sweeping across coastal
Gujarat, with temperatures touching or crossing the 40°C mark in 13 places on Monday. Extreme heat conditions have been prevailing in the state over the past two days; a woman in Limbdi town of Surendrangar district has been reportedly killed by the heat.
Noorjahan Ramzan Shaikh (70), a resident of Laxmipara in
Surendranagar, was on pilgrimage to Bhadiyad Peer Dargah in Dholka. She fainted near Limbdi highway on Sunday. Her family members took her to Limbdi public hospital where she was declared dead. Shaikh’s family members have alleged that there was no medical facility for pilgrims going to Bhadiyad during the Urs festival. However, the chief district health officer of Surendranagar, Dr S M Dev, denied any such death. Even the Limbdi police station said that no mortality was reported because of heatstroke.
On Monday, Porbandar was the hottest place in Gujarat, recording 42.5°C, followed by Surat which recorded 41.9°C. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heatwave warning for coastal
Saurashtra for Tuesday. In Ahmedabad, maximum temperature was 39.9°C — 3.2° above normal. Doctors at Ahmedabad’s Civil and VS hospitals said that they have already started treating around 15 to 20 cases of heat-related dehydration, diarrhoea, and vomiting. According to Met officials, the day temperature in the city may touch 40°C on Tuesday.
Life was thrown out of gear in the city with people preferring to remain indoors even on Sunday to avoid extreme heat. Hot winds continued to blow all through the day and evening did not bring any respite from heat. Dr Jayanta Sarkar, the director of
IMD-Ahmedabad, said that extreme heat can be attributed to an anti-cyclonic circulation over North Gujarat and adjoining Rajasthan, which was bringing dry and hot air to the state.
Sarkar said that extreme heat conditions may not prevail after Tuesday as wind patterns will be south-westerly to westerly and it will bring moisture from the Arabian Sea, possibly diminishing heat.
In Surat, the number of cases of dehydration, mild fever, stomachache and fainting have increased by 10-15% over the past two days. Health officials at the Surat Municipal Corporation said that they have issued an advisory to all their 40-odd health centres and other hospitals to monitor heat-related cases.
The Rajkot Municipal Corporation issued a heatwave warning for the next two days. Rajkot’s temperature on Monday was 39.6°C but civic body expects the temperature to reach 41°C. The RMC warned citizens not to venture out from noon to 5pm and advised them to consume fluids continually.
Representative image
