Beed man succumbs to heat, toll goes up to 8 this summer

PUNE: The high temperature in Maharashtra accompanied by the relentless heatwave claimed another life in Beed recently, taking the heat-related death toll to eight in the state this summer.
“During the ongoing heatwave spell, a 50-year-old man from Beed succumbed to heatstroke. The number of deaths because of heatstroke has increased this summer as the incidence of heatwaves has been severe.For over a month now, parts of the state are recording extremely high temperatures,” said state surveillance officer Pradip Awate.

In the past five days, the health department recorded 16 heat-related illness cases in Maharashtra, taking the total to 456 cases till now this summer. Last year, the state had recorded two heat-related deaths and 568 cases of heat-related illness.
Data shows that the maximum heat-related ailments and deaths are from Nagpur and Akola in Vidarbha, which is reeling from heatwave to severe heatwave conditions. Most locations in Vidarbha recorded temperatures above 45°C in the past few days.
Till May 23, around 156 cases of heat-related illnesses were reported from Nagpur, where the mercury recently climbed to 47.5°C. This number went up to 163 on May 28, Awate said.
In the Latur region, the number of heat-related ailment cases went up from 68 on May 23 to 76 on May 28.
Awate said though people were being cautioned about the effect of heatwaves and their impact on health across the state by the designated authorities, sometimes people fail to the follow safety guidelines. “This could be because of the circumstances that one cannot change where people are forced to toil under the hot sun to eke out a living,” he said.
Awate said the maximum cases being reported to the department were of mild to moderate heat exhaustion and heat rash. Heatstroke was less common, he said.
According to experts, there might be no harm to the human body if the environmental temperature remains at 37°C. Whenever the temperature increases above 37°C, the human body starts gaining heat from the atmosphere. If the humidity is high, a person can suffer from heat stress disorders even when the temperature is 37-38°C.
Heatstroke is accompanied by symptoms like high body temperature (106°F), hot and dry skin, rapid and strong pulse, possible unconsciousness and the victim not sweating.
Senior family physician Avinash Bhondwe said the total water content in the body dips to a critical level during a heatstroke. “Due to the external heat, the body’s temperature keeps on increasing and its cooling mechanism fails. This causes a person to have high fever, dizziness and convulsions, along with the absence of urination and perspiration. This lead to changes in the brain enzymes, which can cause the patient to lose consciousness and go into a coma. This condition can be fatal,” he said.
Doctors stressed though heatstroke in cities like Pune was rare. Other heat-related conditions like kidney stones, increased perspiration causing cramps and heat exhaustion among others were being observed.
According to the Met department, the current round of heatwave is one of the strongest spells this summer and has had a major impact on Vidarbha. The day temperature in Chandrapur in Maharashtra recently came close to a hot 50°C. It was 48°C there on Wednesday — the highest day temperature of this summer in India so far.
The temperature in Vidarbha dipped slightly on Thursday, but it continued to be above 45°C in Akola, Amravati, Bramhapuri, Chandrapur and Wardha.