In New Delhi, a burning landfill drowned residents for a third day on Thursday as temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius in parts of the region. Meteorologists warn that it will be even hotter this weekend. Heatstroke has killed more than 6,500 people in India since 2010, and scientists say climate change is making them harsher and more frequent across South Asia. “It’s the first time I’ve seen such horrible weather in April. “Usually, we’re getting ready for this May and beyond,” said 30-year-old Delhi housewife Somya Mehra as she and her family thirsted for cold drinks. “Today we went out because of our anniversary, but otherwise I will not go out at all. “I have stopped sending my child to play.” The Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have cut off power to factories as air conditioning consumption and fans skyrocketed. Media reports said power plants were also facing shortages of coal, the nation’s main source of electricity, with a population of 1.4 billion. Many areas also reported a drop in water supplies that would only worsen until the annual monsoon rains in June and July. Water shortages will hit farmers hardest, including those who grow wheat, as India aims to boost exports to help reduce the global shortage due to the war in Ukraine. Many parts of India should not expect relief in the coming days. “Heat conditions are likely to prevail in the northern plains as well as in the central parts of the country during this week,” while “severe heat conditions” were forecast for western Rajasthan on May 1-2, the Meteorological Department said on Thursday. India weather forecast. Temperatures are expected to be up to 8 degrees Celsius higher than usual in parts of Pakistan, with mercury peaking at 48 degrees Celsius in parts of Sindh province on Wednesday, the Meteorological Agency of Pakistan warned. Farmers must use water sparingly in a country where agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and accounts for about 40% of the workforce. “The country’s public health and agriculture will face serious threats due to extreme temperatures this year,” said Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman. Last month was the hottest March on record since 1961, Pakistan’s meeting office said. Coming during the month of Ramadan, the heat makes fasting in both India and Pakistan even harder for Muslims, who even avoid water during the day. “Temperatures are rising rapidly in the country and are rising much earlier than usual,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, adding that India had seen “rising fires in various parts of the world – in forests, important buildings and hospitals.” – the previous days “. In New Delhi, a 60-meter (200-foot) mountain of rubbish has been burning since Tuesday as firefighters battled sand and mud trucks. Hell, the toxic black smoke that flooded neighboring neighborhoods, was the fourth such landfill in the 20 million-strong metropolitan area in less than a month. Pradeep Khandelwal, Delhi’s former head of waste management, said they were probably triggered by higher temperatures that accelerate the decomposition of organic waste. “Dry and hot weather produces too much methane gas in landfills that cause such fires,” Khandelwal told AFP. “Before human activities raised global temperatures, we would have seen the heatwave that hit India earlier this month about once every 50 years,” said Mariam Zachariah of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. “But now it is a much more common event – we can expect such high temperatures about once every four years. “And until the net broadcasts stop, it will continue to become even more common.”
