Four dead as Rajasthan scorches, temperatures may touch 50 degrees

Jaipur : Four people have died due to heat stroke even as Rajasthan continues to sizzle with temperatures hovering around 47 degree Celsius in most parts of the state. The temperature is expected to touch 50 degree Celsius over the next few days. 

One woman along with two others died due to extreme heat in Jalore district. The woman died at home after she passed out due to heat and exhaustion. One elderly person also died due to heat. The third person in Jalore has not been identified till now. 

At least seven peacocks were found dead in the Khairtal region near Tijara , Alwar. It is being assumed they died due to heat.

The met department has issued a red alert for May 25-26 this year. The temperatures are expected to touch 49-50 degrees in some parts of the desert state and has further warned of no respite from heat over the next few days.

Two welders namely Shindar Singh from Punjab and Suresh Yadav from Gazipur, Uttar Pradesh were working in the under-construction oil refinery in Balotra under scorching sun and fell unconscious due to extreme heat. Shindar Singh, 41, died while Suresh Yadav is being treated in a hospital.

People are not venturing out in extreme temperatures and keeping themselves hydrated.

In Jaipur, the district administration has covered major traffic signals with green cloth to provide shade to motorists, who may have to wait long at the signals. The roads are also being sprayed with water in the morning and evenings to cool them down.

Places like Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Ganganagar, Pilani, Alwar, Baran and Churu are likely to see a high of 50 degrees. Places like Nagaur, Jaipur, Tonk, Karauli, Chittorgarh, Kota, Jhalawar will experience about 47 to 48 degrees Celsius.

Jaipur saw a high of 45.4 degree Celsius on Wednesday, the highest temperature this season. The state capital had witnessed 45 degrees on one other day earlier.

The Met department says the temperature could rise to 47 to 48 degrees in Jaipur, making it a record in the past 12 to 13 years.

Barmer, one of the hottest places in India, touched 48 degrees, a second time in the last seven years, In 2016, it had recorded 49.5 degrees and in 2022 it touched 48.1 degrees Celsius.

Met department has issued red alert for Alwar, Baran, Bharatpur, Bundi, Dausa, Dholpur, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Karauli, Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, Tonk, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Churu, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Nagaur, Pali for May 24, 25 and 26. It has issued an orange alert for Jalore, Jhalawar, Bhilwara and Ajmer.

The state has been witnessing a rise in temperature over the past 10 years. The average temperature of some cities in the period between 2014 to 2023 has been recorded between 43 degrees Celsius to 47 degrees Celsius, which is actually an increase of over 3 degrees to 5 degree when compared to the temperatures of the same places in the period between 1991 to 2020. Then the temperatures hovered between 40 to 42 degrees Celsius.

Researchers say several factors like the installation of ACs in most houses in these places, deforestation and cutting down of trees to widen roads, and more concrete construction are making the temperatures rise in Rajasthan.