Ranchi: At least four people, including a woman, died due to heatwave-related symptoms in Jharkhand’s Palamu district, which recorded the state’s highest maximum temperature at 47.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday, an official said.
The four deaths were reported from different parts of the district.
'Three persons died during treatment at a hospital, while one died outside the hospital. The patients were suffering from heatwave-related complications,' Palamu civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Singh said.
He said that around 10 people with heatwave-related ailments are undergoing treatment at the district hospital.
“In a bid to deal with heatwave conditions, a rapid action team was also formed,” he said.
On Wednesday, two deaths were reported from Garhwa district due to heatwave-related ailments.
A senior official of the state health department said that the deaths being attributed to heatwave are, in fact, due to comorbidities.
Apart from humans, the heatwave is also taking a toll on birds, especially bats.
Death of bats is being reported from different parts of the state, including Garhwa, Ranchi and Hazaribag.
Hundreds of bats died near the Son River under the jurisdiction of the Kandi police station in Garhwa on Wednesday.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Garhwa (North) Dilip Kumar Yadav said, “Actual cause of death could be ascertained only after the post-mortem examination. However, extreme heat weather conditions cannot be ruled out, as such kinds of birds face trouble above 42 deg C.” Garhwa on Wednesday sizzled at 48 deg C, while it simmered at 47.1 deg C on Thursday.
Major parts of Jharkhand remained in the grip of a sweltering heat wave on Thursday.
As many as 16 districts of the state sweltered above 40 deg C.
Abhishek Anand, the in-charge of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, said that the drop in maximum temperature is unlikely for the next two days.
“Thereafter, it may gradually decline by two to three deg C,” he said.
The weather department has issued a yellow alert for the heatwave for the northwest parts of the state on Friday.
However, light rain is likely in northeast parts, the weather official said.
Ranchi, formerly known as the summer capital of united Bihar, recorded a sweltering 42 degrees Celsius, 5.3 notches above the normal temperature.
Other areas also experienced extreme heat, with Seraikela reaching 46.3 deg C, West Singh at 44.8 deg C, Gumla at 44.7 deg C, Lohardaga at 44.3 deg C, Bokaro at 43.9 deg C, Chatra at 43.3 deg C, and Jamshedpur at 42.8 deg C.