Hundreds Die in India Heatwave

Heatstroke, blackouts, water shortages plague parched country
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2010 7:44 AM CDT
Hundreds Die in India Heatwave
Tribal men lie with sticks as they participate in a ritual to invoke the gods to bring rain at a temple of Hindu god Shiva in Ranchi, India, May 27, 2010. Severe heat conditions continue in India.   (AP Photo/Sasanka Sen)

Hundreds of people have died in northern India as the country suffers the hottest temperatures it has ever recorded. Along with the at least 260 people reported dead, thousands have flooded hospitals suffering heat stroke or food poisoning. In cities the heat has also led to electricity blackouts and water shortages. The situation is expected to worsen before the desperately awaited arrival of monsoon season, with temperatures predicted to reach 122 degrees in the coming weeks.

Monsoon season, which likely won't hit the bone-dry north until the end of June, is "too long to wait. We'll all go mad before," a Delhi man told the Guardian.
(More India stories.)

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