Just as a US-based weather site predicted and Mirror reported five days back, mercury touched 46 degrees on Friday.
Desert-ed: Hot roads, killing heat, almost-nil greenery. Ahmedabad is burning
There is no chance of temperature reaching 46 degrees Celsius. The IMD is official, and may I add, most reliable when it comes to predicting weather. Don’t rely on such websites, American or whatever, for information
Agni varsha, fire rain... call it what you may, but it was Killer Friday as Ahmedabad recorded 46.8 degrees Celsius, its highest in 40 years, which took 6 human lives by 7.30 pm. Just 100 km away, in Idar, the mercury touched 48.5 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest place in the country yesterday. Ahmedabad was third in the list, while Jaisalmer was placed second.
In Ahmedabad, two senior citizens, Mohammad Ayub Noor (71) and Mohammad Yunus Menon (62), and a 45-year-old man, Raman Vaghela, succumbed to heat stroke in V S Hospital. Noor was from Sarkhej, Menon from Kalupur and Vaghela was a Behrampura resident.
In Ahmedabad, two senior citizens, Mohammad Ayub Noor (71) and Mohammad Yunus Menon (62), and a 45-year-old man, Raman Vaghela, succumbed to heat stroke in V S Hospital. Noor was from Sarkhej, Menon from Kalupur and Vaghela was a Behrampura resident.
At Civil Hospital, a 35-year-old man, Jayesh Arora died in the afternoon while the dead at Sardaben Hospital have been identified as Mansoor, aged 38, from Rakhial and 75-year-old Meera Damani from Krishnanagar.
Including those who died on Friday due to the heat, close to 30 people were admitted in various hospitals for heat stroke treatment. Across state on Friday, Bhavnagar recorded three heat stroke deaths, two persons died in Bhuj, two in Vadodara, one in Idar and one in Malpur.
On Sunday, this newspaper had reported a reputed American weather website’s prediction of 46 degrees Celsius for the city on May 21 and 22 (Will it touch 46 degrees Celsius? AM, May 16). The website, www.weather.com, was proved accurate when Friday’s temperature was recorded at 46.8 degrees Celsius.
There is going to be no respite from the heat for the next few days. It was way back in 1970, when the city was more hotter than this. In May 1970, Ahmedabad had reached 47.3 degrees Celsius. We only pray that an all-time high of 47.8 degrees C, set in 1916, doesn’t get surpassed.
The meteorological department official had on Saturday asked us not to believe “irrelevant” sources of information when we had told them about weather.com’s prediction for May 21-22. Insisting that temperatures would come down, Kamaljit Ray, director for Gujarat region, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), had told this newspaper, “There is no chance of the temperature reaching 46 degrees Celsius.”
Ray had said, “The IMD is official, and may I add most reliable, when it comes to predicting weather. Don’t rely on such websites, American or whatever, for information.”
On Friday, Ray called weather.com’s accuracy a “coincidence.” She said, “The temperatures would have come down but for Cyclone Laila.
“The heat wave is all across the state and central India due to the northwesterly winds blowing from dry regions and this will prevail for the next 2-3 days.”
Indeed, citizens from all walks of life are crying out for respite. While the homeless, and the lower middle-class have no option but to surrender to the elements, even the privileged class is losing sleep over heat. ACs are failing, fans are of little use and homes are as hot as tin roofs.
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