The nationwide toll of suspected heatstroke deaths surpassed 200, with Odisha reporting 45 new fatalities even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated a likely decrease in heatwave intensity over northwest, central, and eastern India in the coming three days. The toll reached 211 on Sunday, with Odisha alone accounting for 141 deaths. Additionally, a constable on poll duty in Bihar’s Aurangabad district succumbed to suspected heatstroke within the last 24 hours.
The Odisha government reported that of the 45 deaths in the last 24 hours, post-mortem examinations confirmed 26 as due to heatstroke. Eight other deaths were attributed to causes other than sunstroke, and investigations are ongoing to determine if the remaining 107 fatalities were due to the heatwave. A significant number of suspected heatwave deaths in Odisha occurred in the western part of the state, with Sundargarh district being notably affected, reporting 35 suspected heatstroke deaths in three days. Post-mortem examinations in Sundargarh confirmed that six of these deaths were due to sunstroke, according to Ashutosh Kulkarni, the additional district magistrate of Sundargarh. Balangir district reported 20 suspected sunstroke deaths, with four confirmed as heat-related. Investigations continue for the remaining 16 cases.
Sambalpur reported 18 suspected cases, with post-mortem examinations confirming five of the seven cases examined as due to sunstroke. The reports for the remaining 11 cases are pending, said Sambalpur collector Akshay Sunil Agrawal.
In Bihar, constable Ram Bhajan Singh fainted on a bus carrying EVMs in Aurangabad’s Daudnagar on Saturday. He was rushed to Patna’s AIIMS, where he died on Sunday.
According to the IMD forecast, heatwave conditions are expected to persist in five western districts of Odisha—Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Sonepur, and Kalahandi—until Wednesday. Hot and humid conditions will continue in coastal districts until the onset of the southwest monsoon in the state, IMD sources said.
