© Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
Indian boys bath at a drinking water tap on a hot day in Prayagraj, India.
Indian boys bath at a drinking water tap on a hot day in Prayagraj, India.
At least 92 people have died in India's Bihar as the state remains in the midst of a punishing heatwave that's affecting much of the country, bringing with it droughts and hundreds of cases of heatstroke.
The country is experiencing its lowest rainfall before monsoon season in over six decades and is in its third week of a heatwave, set to become one of the longest on record.
The majority of the recorded deaths in Bihar since June 15 have occurred in Aurangabad, Gaya, and Nawada, where temperatures have been around 45 degrees Celsius. At least 562 patients have been admitted to government hospitals with heatstroke, and officials fear the death toll will continue to rise.
Indeed, the true toll may never be fully known as some heat-related deaths could not be officially confirmed "as the families took the deceased's body before post-mortem," an official of the state emergency operation center told the Hindustan Times.
Comment: Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Hottest temperatures on the planet but forget the record snow & cold please