Extreme heat has caused the deaths of 15 people in the state. In Surat alone, ten people died after manifesting symptoms of suffocation, epileptic convulsion, dysentery, and heatstroke, related to the heatwave. Four people died of a similar cause in Vadodara. The heatwave also took the life of a four-year-old child in Vadgam. This summer, a total of nineteen people have lost their lives in Gujarat due to abnormally hot weather.
Of the ten deaths reported in Surat, seven are migrants, and two could not be identified. All are in the age group of 35 to 50. The heat affects people living in the galvanized shades more for obvious reasons.
Gujarat has been reeling under extreme heat since eight days. The mercury soaring to 46.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday at Himmat Nagar and Kandala was a record-breaking peak. Ahmedabad also recorded 45.9 degrees of heat. The heatwave is felt in 12 cities in the state.
While the heatwave affects the elderly with greater severity, youth are also advised not to disregard the dangers of the heatwave. Due to direct heat, the human body dehydrates quickly, causing grave complications as the human heart struggles to adjust the body temperature.
The Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, has advised the citizens to take the red alert notice seriously. The institute has said that analysis of data from 2002 to 2018 shows that the probability of death among the elderly increases by 30% during heatwaves. Ahmedabad was a pioneer in implementing a heatwave action plan, and now many cities in the state have a formal heatwave action plan.
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