India and Pakistan have been suffering from extreme heat waves this year melting pavements, forcing school closures and triggering fire alerts.
High temperatures are expected to continue throughout May which follows the hottest March since the India Meteorological Department began keeping records 122 years ago. In the Indian capital New Delhi, temperatures soared past 40C for several days.
Pakistan issued a heat warning after the hottest March in 61 years. For the first time in decades the country went from winter to summer without the spring season, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change reported. “India and Pakistan are faced with what has been a record-breaking heatwave. It started in early April and continues to leave the people gasping in whatever shade they find.”
India’s electricity demand hit a record high in April. The surge in the use of air conditioning has triggered the worst power crisis in more than six years. Electricity use is expected to grow as India’s weather office has forecast above normal maximum temperatures over most parts of the west-central, northwest, north and northeast of the country.
