Temperatures inch towards 40 degrees in TS

Swine flu cases will come down as the virus is heat-sensitive, say officials

March 14, 2019 12:02 am | Updated 12:02 am IST - HYDERABAD

Girls having fruit juice to beat the heat as temperatures soar in the city.

Girls having fruit juice to beat the heat as temperatures soar in the city.

Temperatures in Telangana are inching towards 40 degrees Celsius and the highest of 39.3 degrees Celsius was recorded in Medak district on Wednesday, followed by 38.9 degrees C in Mahabubnagar.

In Hyderabad, the temperature reached 38.2 degrees C on Wednesday from 33.4 degrees C on March 1. Y.K. Reddy, Director In-charge of India Meteorological Department, had said at a press conference two weeks ago that the temperatures would gradually rise by 0.2 to 0.3 degree C and it would stay high from mid-May till the onset of monsoon.

In this summer, the temperatures in Telangana are predicted to reach 47 degrees to 48 degrees C, and it might reach 46 degrees C in Hyderabad.

“In the next two to three days, temperatures will significantly increase in some parts of Telangana, especially in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the State. It will be three to four degrees above normal temperature,” Dr. Reddy said on Wednesday.

A silver lining is that the number of swine flu cases would come down as the virus is heat-sensitive, say officials in the State Health Department’s Epidemics Cell.

According to the data from 2016 to 2019, the number of swine flu cases increased in February every year, barring 2018, and they dropped from March, only to increase from August or September again. The same trend was observed in flu deaths.

This year, however, around 15 to 20 cases continue to be reported every day even when the temperatures are rising fast. For instance, 22 positive cases were reported on Tuesday.

Joint Director of Epidemics Cell P. Vikram Kumar said they were expecting the number of swine flu cases to come down by end of this month. From January 1, a total of 861 cases and 12 deaths were reported in the State.

As was the case in previous years, the highest number of cases continue to be reported from Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal districts, as 85% of them are reported from the three districts this year.

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