Extreme Weather in India: Heatwaves, Landslides, and Floods Claim Lives
India is grappling with extreme weather, including severe heatwaves, landslides, and floods, which have claimed at least 11 lives this week. Among the victims were a woman and her three daughters, who were buried alive in the northeastern state of Assam, according to officials and media reports.
On Tuesday, New Delhi experienced its hottest night in six years, with temperatures soaring to unprecedented levels. Hospitals in the capital, home to 20 million people, reported at least five deaths from heatstroke, as reported by the Times of India.
In Assam, incessant rain triggered floods and landslides, resulting in the deaths of at least six people on Tuesday night. A state disaster management official, Siju Das, confirmed that a landslide buried a woman and her three daughters alive. "Their house was on a slope, and they died on the spot around midnight," Das said, adding that a three-hour search operation was required to retrieve their bodies. A three-year-old child was also killed in the disaster.
The extreme weather in India is part of a broader trend affecting billions across Asia, which scientists attribute to human-driven climate change. Since March, temperatures have reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in Delhi and the desert state of Rajasthan. The country’s northwest and east have recorded more than twice the usual number of heatwave days this season, due to fewer thundershowers and warm winds from neighboring arid regions.
In Assam, over 160,000 people have been affected by floods, with water levels in the Kopili River, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra, surpassing danger levels. Since the end of May, more than 30 people in the state have died due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rains, officials said.
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