India's torrid temperatures cause thousands of deaths

Blistering winds continue to sweep across New Delhi and most parts of north and central India, as temperatures soar to116 degrees Fahrenheit in some regions. Still rising, the death toll is more than 2,200 since mid-April. On Sunday, weather officials predicted the hot temperatures would likely remain until rains bring respite.

South India bears the brunt of the brutal heat, with coastal state Andhra Pradesh hit hardest. In the past two months, Andhra Pradesh’s state government reported 1,636 deaths due to heat stroke or dehydration, with another 561 heat-related deaths in the neighboring state of Telangana, according to disaster management commissioner Sada Bhargavi.

The Indian Express newspaper reports daytime temperatures in the two states hovering at least 12 degrees above the seasonal norm. Forecasting service AccuWeather said it was the most intense heat wave in recent years. While fleeting thunderstorms bring relief to some regions, India’s official monsoon season will not snuff the summer blaze for at least a few more days. Monsoon season runs through September as rains gradually cover the entire country.

“We can’t bear this heat. The situation is worsened by frequent power outages,” said Rekha Tiwari, a housewife in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh state capital. India’s spotty electricity renders ceiling fans and cooling units largely useless. In the cities, workers flee steaming office buildings and swarm around roadside stalls selling ice water and chilled fruit juice.

For local hospitals already treating an onslaught of heat stroke victims, power failure is both a risk and a frustration, according to a recent BBC report.

“Last night there was no electricity for nearly five hours,” said a New Delhi mother waiting outside All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the city’s largest government hospital, with her young son. “You can imagine what we must have gone through. He just couldn’t sleep and kept on crying. Now he has fever as well.”

Dehydration and heat stroke often prove fatal for people living and working unshielded beneath the sun. Time reported the majority of the nation’s summer fatalities have been day laborers whose livelihood depends on high-intensity, sweat-drenching outdoor work.

In an attempt to quell casualties, some cities are issuing public announcements urging people to hydrate and stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day.

The Huffington Post reports the Andhra Pradesh government recommended an afternoon curfew after two taxi drivers smothered inside their vehicles.

But not everyone has the luxury of escaping the scorch. In New Delhi, where temperatures peaked at 106 Farenheit over the weekend, one local cart puller defied the weather advisory.

“I have to work to feed myself,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.