The scorching heat in Delhi has forced authorities to issue a red alert for intense heat, disrupting daily routine activities in the national capital. (Read this also | Rahul Gandhi enjoys Bingsu to beat Delhi heat: Learn how to make the Korean dessert at home,
Rohit Garg, a 24-year-old gig worker, was admitted to the capital’s Safdarjung Hospital after his body temperature soared and he started shivering. It became too difficult for him to deliver food packets on his two-wheeler in the scorching heat in Delhi and he fainted at his last stop.
“His sugar levels had dropped and he was severely dehydrated. We had to give him rehydration therapy as he had suffered a heat stroke,” Dr. Ashutosh Singh told DW.
Construction worker Jagan Das has just recovered after spending four days at a local hospital where he was receiving intravenous fluids.
“I was dehydrated and was lucky to survive. Working 10-hour shifts in high temperatures left me weak,” Das told DW.
Delhi is blazing with excitement
As Delhi continues to reel under intense heat, many hospitals have made arrangements to treat patients suffering from heat-related health issues such as exhaustion and stroke. Some hospitals have set up dedicated units to treat patients suffering from heat-related health issues.
The Delhi government has asked hospitals to prepare action plans for heat relief and ensure preparedness to deal with heat-related incidents (HRI). In the last fortnight, there have been 10-15% more heat-related patient visits to OPDs and about 10% more patients to the emergency department.
“Our hospital staff is being sensitized for early diagnosis and we are prepared to provide rehydration therapy to heat stroke patients depending on their severity,” Sumit Ray, medical director at Holy Family Hospital, told DW.
With no respite from the heat expected soon, the India Meteorological Department has issued a “red alert” for severe conditions in the national capital. Najafgarh in south Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 47.8 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest this season so far.
The Delhi government has directed those schools which have not yet closed to close for summer vacation with immediate effect.
Footfall in public parks and markets is declining, and zoo authorities have begun taking preventive measures such as sprinkling water on animals and installing water coolers in enclosures.
Poor affected by extreme heat
However, there is no help in sight for Delhi’s outdoor workers and low-income families, while rising temperatures could pose serious health risks.
“We suffer from heatstroke almost every day — dehydration and heatstroke — and the lack of basic amenities amid the scorching sun,” daily laborer Meena Devi told DW.
Many contractors fail to provide their workers with the necessary amenities. Lack of access to adequate healthcare facilities and unsafe working conditions pose significant risks to the well-being of workers.
“It is difficult to work, but if I don’t work, I won’t earn any income,” Devi said, covering her head and face with a scarf. She added that the heat is also taking a toll on her two young children, whom she brings to the site.
Last week, municipal authorities cut off water supply, and many people had to make a harrowing walk of up to a kilometre to fetch water in trolleys full of buckets.
Those most affected by this weather are the poor and homeless who work or sleep outside. Many people adopt temporary measures to reduce the effects of extreme heat, such as using tarpaulins and staying in the shade near trees and parks.
“The number of heat wave days has increased. We are not only dealing with daytime temperatures, but night temperatures have also become higher,” Hiralal Paswan, a waste picker, told DW.
Dealing with extreme heat
With temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius, election candidates and party workers also take a break from outdoor campaigning from 12 noon to 3 pm amid the ongoing election campaign.
“At this time, when the sun is at its peak, our door-to-door campaign, in which workers distribute pamphlets, paste stickers and tell voters about the party symbols, stops for a while,” Raghu Jain, a political party worker, told DW.
“But this is only temporary relief. There is heat stress on the body and many workers have fallen ill due to extreme exhaustion,” Jain said.
The effects of heat can be difficult to measure, and estimates of the number of deaths due to extreme heat range from a few hundred to a thousand each year.
The dense concentration of buildings and paved surfaces increases temperatures, especially in areas with little tree cover or greenery, creating heat islands, where poor and minority neighborhoods often bear the brunt.
Experts say that if the current temperature rise trend continues, the wet bulb temperature, a measure of heat and humidity that represents the point when the body can no longer cool itself, will become so high that it will be difficult for people in direct contact with it for six hours or more to survive.
“A large section of our population is highly vulnerable to heat waves due to lack of household amenities, literacy rates and access to water and sanitation,” Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment, told DW.
