Deadly heat and deluges ravage S. Asia

NEW DELHI/DHAKA — South Asia has been sweltering in recent months as a confluence of factors has led to a very hot summer, with extreme weather events killing dozens in the region.

Nearly 25,000 people have suffered suspected heatstroke and 56 died amid scorching heat across India between March and May, local media reported citing government data.

May has been a particularly bad month for India, with temperatures in New Delhi and nearby Rajasthan state touching 50 C.

In contrast, parts of the country's east have been reeling from Cyclone Remal. Heavy rain in the northeastern state of Assam has killed 14 people since May 27.

Cities in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala have also been inundated by heavy rains.

India's tech hub of Bengaluru received 111.1 millimeters of rainfall on Sunday, the highest it has seen in the month of June since 1891.

Local media footage showed vehicles and pedestrians wading through flooded streets in Bengaluru, with fallen trees blocking roads and massive traffic jams clogging major intersections.

In the island country of Sri Lanka, at least 15 people have been killed by flooding and landslides after heavy monsoon rain lashed the region, the country's Disaster Management Centre said on Sunday.

A confluence of factors has led to a very hot summer in South Asia, a trend scientists said has been worsened by human-driven climate change.

At least 33 people, including poll officials on duty in India's just-concluded general election, have died of suspected heatstroke in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the north, and Odisha in the east.

Data from the National Centre of Disease Control showed the situation was worst in May, with 46 heat-related deaths and 19,189 suspected heatstroke cases, news site ThePrint reported.

Including suspected cases, the total number of deaths in India could be much higher at 80, The Hindu newspaper reported.

More than 5,000 cases of heatstroke were reported in the central state of Madhya Pradesh alone.

The weather office has predicted that heat will be less severe till Wednesday, and an early arrival of monsoon in Kerala last week is expected to bring more relief.

Highest temperature

In Bangladesh, a mild heat wave was sweeping parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, and it may continue, the country's weather agency said on Sunday.

The country's maximum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 37.4 C in Jashore, some 164 kilometers southwest of Dhaka.

In the capital, the maximum temperature rose to 36.5 C on Sunday.

Because of increasing moisture incursions, experts said the discomfort may increase in Bangladesh, which sits on a massive river delta.

In recent years, natural disasters such as floods and heat waves induced by extreme weather owing to climate change have caused more frequent-than-usual disasters in the country of 165 million people.

Experts said heat waves would likely escalate in the coming years because of erratic rainfall and high temperatures, posing a threat to Bangladesh, one of the biggest victims of global warming.

Dhaka experienced 40.6 C on April 16 last year, the highest in the capital in 58 years.

The country experienced a record-breaking 23 heat wave days in April, the highest in 76 years.

Agencies - Xinhua