Heat wave sweeps Andhra Pradesh

Heat waves scorched parts of Andhra Pradesh on Monday with vernacular news channels telecasting visuals of omelettes being cooked on granite blocks at Kothagudem in Khammam district.

In Vijayawada, Guntur and Prakash districts, housewives claimed to have cooked rice with water boiled under the sun.

Kothagudem, which recorded a temperature of 48.5 degrees Celsius, the highest here in ten years, witnessed several flash fires. The town is known for its extreme temperatures, varying between 48 degrees in summer and 10 degrees in winter. “In recent years, the temperature has regularly crossed the 50 degrees Celsius mark in the coal belt. The highest temperature recorded in the coal mine areas till date is 58.01 degrees Celsius. The rule is if the temperature crosses 50 degrees Celsius the mines have to close immediately for the safety of the miners,” said sources in the Visakhapatnam meteorology department.

45 degrees Celsius

The Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana districts have recorded a temperature of over 45 degrees Celsius since last week, taking its toll on campaigns of political leaders. Prominent leaders like Chandrababu Naidu are resuming their road shows only after 4pm.

With the monsoons almost two weeks away, Hyderabad and 10 other towns have consistently recorded a temperature of 44.5 degrees Celsius. “We are going through an unprecedented heat wave in state capital touching  43 degrees for last five days,” met department sources said. It will continue till end of this month .

“Social forestry degradation, concrete jungles for IT and SEZ around Hyderabad have added to the heat wave and water scarcity, ” said Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain.