As many as 223 people in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana succumbed to the blazing heatwave sweeping the country even as the blistering sun today continued to drive the mercury upwards with Delhi recording its hottest day of this season.
While 128 persons have died in Telangana, the toll increased to 95 in Andhra Pradesh, where 15 more persons succumbed to the heatwave, senior officials said.
The toll for AP is for the period from May 18 till this evening while the figures for Telangana cover the duration since April 15 till today.
One person was said to have fallen prey to the heatwave in West Bengal, where several places today recorded temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius. Two deaths due to the heat were reported yesterday in Barrackpore and state capital Kolkata.
Delhiites today struggled to cope with the excruciating heat as the maximum hit this summer's highest at 44.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal.
Amidst the infernal heat, the weatherman, however, hinted at the likelihood of some relief in the form of dust storms or thunderstorms tomorrow across northern India.
Although the Safdarjang weather station, which provides the official reading for Delhi, gave a sub-45 degree figure, the Palam weather station in the national capital recorded the mercury at 46.2 degrees. The maximum in Delhi yesterday was at 43.6 degrees.
The minimum today settled at 29.3 degrees, three notches above the season's average, while humidity in air oscillated between 17 and 40 per cent on a dry day.
Weather officials, meanwhile, said that relief was on the cards as dust storms and thunderstorms are likely to occur tomorrow in some parts of Delhi.
Down south, severe heatwave prevailed over parts of Adilabad, Warangal, Hyderabad, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts of Telangana.
AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said, "We have around 100 deaths. More figures are coming. We are taking all precautions on how to minimise deaths.
