Scientists have said climate change is contributing to more frequent, severe, and longer heat waves during summer months.
Temperatures across Kerala, at India’s southern tip, were expected to be higher than normal, causing authorities to issue warnings asking people to take precautions against the heat such as staying indoors.
In neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, a local politician was handing out fresh fruit, coconuts, and cold drinks in Chennai to help people keep cool.
India’s weather department has predicted more heatwave days than normal between April and June when the monsoon will hit and temperatures usually fall.
In the eastern state of Odisha, where temperatures touched 44.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the highest recorded in April, at least two people have died this summer of sunstroke, said Odisha’s public health director Niranjan Mishra.
In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities again closed all primary schools across the country and educational institutions in almost half of districts including the capital as a severe heatwave saw temperatures climb above 43 degrees Celsius on Monday.
But for those who work outdoors, like rickshaw driver Mohammed Shameem in Dhaka, there is not much respite.
“It is too hard to work under the sun during a brutal heatwave. There are not many people who are coming out which means getting passengers is tough. But we have no option but to come out and work,” Shameem said.
