Searing heat claims 3 lives in Assam

Three persons have lost their lives in Assam with temperatures soaring seven degrees above normal in the state, official sources said today.

After the floods that claimed 34 lives and affected lakhs of people early this month, the state is now experiencing blazing heat, recording an average of 39 degrees Celsius.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) here, the temperatures were seeing a rise as the easterly and north-easterly winds were not carrying any moisture from the Bay of Bengal. The abnormal heat also continued today although no deaths were reported.

Yesterday, A policeman, Bhadra Singh Narzary (42), complained of uneasiness and collapsed in Kokrajhar town while on duty. Narzary was rushed to a hospital where he was declared "brought dead", official sources said. Another policeman, Lal Mohan Barman (40), became unconscious in Kokrajhar district and is undergoing treatment for heatstroke, the sources added.

 

In Morigaon district, Amar Das (67) collapsed while travelling to the district headquarters. He died on the way to a hospital in an ambulance, police said. In Sonitpur district, a labourer died in Balipara railway station due to heatstroke, police said.

There have been reports of college students collapsing due to heat across the state. As many as 21 students of a women's college fell ill at Hojai in Nagaon district yesterday, the sources added.

Mazbat in Darrang district has been the hottest, recording a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, followed by Guwahati with its all-time July high of 38.4 degrees Celsius, RMC sources said. The state capital had recorded the highest temperature of 40 degrees Celsius in 1960 as per RMC records.

Silchar in Cachar district, North Lakhimpur in Lakhimpur district and Jorhat town in Jorhat district also registered 38 degress Celsius, as per the Met office records. Among the other district headquarters, Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Golaghat have recorded 37 degrees Celsius.

The average relative humidity in the state was 87 per cent with the highest of 98 per cent in North Lakhimpur and Guwahati with 79 per cent, the records showed. The weather forecast by the Met office today predicted light to moderate thundershowers at many places in the next 24 hours, with heavy rainfall is "very likely at isolated places".