Heatwave Kills 5 People in New Delhi

The Times of India reported on Wednesday that a severe heatwave sweeping across India has claimed the lives of at least five people this week in the capital, New Delhi, after the hottest night in six years. Billions across Asia are suffering from extreme heat this summer, a development that scientists say has been exacerbated by climate change due to human activities. The newspaper noted that the fatalities were recorded since Monday in hospitals across various areas of the Indian city, which has a population of 20 million, where a water shortage crisis is worsening. It added that energy consumption reached an all-time high on Tuesday, when nighttime temperatures dropped to 33.8 degrees Celsius. Since March, temperatures have risen to 50 degrees Celsius in Delhi and the nearby desert state of Rajasthan, while over twice the usual number of heatwave days have been reported this season in northwest and eastern India. These conditions resulted from a lack of thunderstorm rains and warm winds blowing in from arid neighboring regions.