Millions sweltered in a dangerous early summer heatwave across India and Pakistan that has left electricity and water shortages as annual blast-furnace temperatures ravage South Asia.
In New Delhi, a burning garbage dump suffocated residents for a third day on Thursday as temperatures topped 45C (113F) in parts of the region. Meteorologists warn that it will be even hotter this weekend.
Heat waves have killed more than 6,500 people in India since 2010, and scientists say climate change is making them more severe and frequent across South Asia.
“This is the first time I’ve seen such terrible weather in April. We are usually prepared for this from May onwards,” said 30-year-old Delhi housewife Somya Mehra as she and her family thirsty for cold drinks.
“Today we dropped out because of our anniversary, but otherwise I don’t drop out at all. I stopped sending my child to play.”
The Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh forced factories into blackouts as demand for air conditioning and fans skyrocketed.
According to media reports, the power plants have also faced coal shortages, the main source of electricity in the country of 1.4 billion people.
Many regions also reported declining water supplies, which will only get worse ahead of the annual monsoon rains in June and July.
The water shortages will hit farmers hardest, including those growing wheat, as India intends to boost exports to ease a global shortage stemming from the war in Ukraine.
Several parts of India should not expect relief in the coming days.
“Heat wave conditions are likely to prevail throughout the week in the northern plains as well as central parts of the country,” while “severe heat wave conditions” were forecast for western Rajasthan on May 1 and 2, the India Meteorological Department said in a weather report.
Temperatures are expected to be up to 8C warmer than usual in parts of Pakistan, with mercury peaking at 48C in parts of rural Sindh on Wednesday, the Pakistan Meteorological Society has warned.
In a country where agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and employs around 40% of the workforce, farmers need to be careful with water.
“The country’s public health and agriculture will face serious threats due to the extreme temperatures this year,” said Climate Minister Sherry Rehman.
Last month was the hottest March on record since 1961, Pakistan’s Met Bureau said.
During the month of Ramadan, the heat in both India and Pakistan makes fasting even more difficult for Muslims, who avoid even water during the day.
“Temperatures in the country are rising rapidly and much earlier than usual,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, adding that India has seen “increasing fires in various places – in forests, important buildings and in hospitals” – in recent days “.
A 60-meter-high mountain of rubbish has been on fire in New Delhi since Tuesday as firefighters battle with truckloads of sand and mud.
The inferno, which spewed toxic black smoke that engulfed surrounding counties, was the fourth such incident at a landfill site in the megacity of 20 million in less than a month. Pradeep Khandelwal, the former head of waste management in Delhi, said they were likely triggered by warmer temperatures speeding up the decomposition of organic waste.
“The dry and hot weather produces excess methane gas at the landfills that fuel such fires,” Khandelwal told AFP.
“Before human activities increased global temperatures, we would have seen the heat that hit India earlier this month about once in 50 years,” said Mariam Zachariah, of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.
“But now it’s a much more frequent event – we can expect such high temperatures about every four years. And until net issuance stops, it will happen even more frequently.”