The searing heat wave in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has killed 432 people so far with more deaths being reported as vast swathes of the country reeled under the unrelenting summer heat .
There was no respite in sight with the India Meteorological department warning that severe heatwave conditions are expected to continue in the two worst-hit southern states.
In Delhi, the maximum temperature was recorded at 43.5 degree celsius, a degree less than Sunday while Palam recorded 46 degree celsius. Uttar Pradesh continued to reel under sweltering heat with mercury in Allahabad touching 47.7 degree Celsius which was the hottest in the state.
The steel city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand experienced the hottest day of the season at 44.8 degree celsius, four degrees above normal. Odisha virtually turned into a boiling cauldron as the searing heatwave conditions further intensified today with the mercury rising above 45 degree celsius in nine places and above 40 degree celsius in 19 towns.
The toll in the heatwave in Andhra Pradesh since May 18 rose to 246, after 84 more people succumbed across the state today, according to a senior official of the AP Disaster Management Department.
The figure was based on information available from different districts until 7.15 pm. Prakasam district recorded the most number of deaths at 57, followed by Visakhapatnam(53) and Vizianagaram (40), the official said. He said 162 people had died due to heatwave across the state as per information available until 10 pm last night.
Nalgonda district recorded the maximum number of 55 deaths, followed by Khammam district at 43 and Mahabubnagar district at 23, she said. In Hyderabad, two persons have died due to heatwave. The toll is registered from April 15 in Telangana, the official said.
There was no respite from blistering heat in desert state of Rajasthan where Jaisalmer and Sriganganagar districts remained the hottest place recording a maximum of 45.6 degree celsius.
Kota recorded a maximum of 45.5 degree celsius while Bikaner and Barmer registered temperatures of 44.6 and 44.2 degree respectively. Churu and Jaipur sizzled at 43.8 degree celsius. Jodhpur, Ajmer and Dabok also recorded day temperature of 42, 41.4 and 40 degree Celsius.
Nearly 500 death reports have come from across the country due to heat wave.
As there is no respite from the scorching Sun in the state of West Bengal as well, the taxi drivers in Kolkata, have refused to ply between 11 am and 4 pm. Two taxi drivers have died during the heat wave in the city.