Heatwave conditions continue in Karnataka

Mangalore Today News Network

Apr 13, 2016: According to a forecast from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, heat wave conditions will prevail across the state. As a measure to preempt casualties due to sun strokes, the centre has urged people to start their day early and stay indoors at noon.

KSNDMC Director G S Srinivasa Reddy told  media for  past two years, there have not been any deaths in the state because of sun strokes. "We want to maintain. This year is critical also because of severe drought.

In the normal course, such a warning is issued for the northern Karnataka regions, where temperatures soar above 42 degree Celsius during summer. But this year, it is beamed across the state, including Bengaluru and other parts of interior and coastal Karnataka.

The Disaster Monitoring Centre has forecast that the temperatures could rise above 44 degrees Celsius in most parts of north Karnataka and will be 2-3 degrees higher than normal in most parts of the state. The officials are, therefore, educating the people. Awareness programmes are being conducted across the state, especially at government offices which are frequented by many people. They are also guiding people who call up the centre seeking weather information.

Reddy said this was the need of the hour and the office timings needed to change. The temperatures are increasing and people should be warned. Some citizens have become aware, but more needs to be done, especially in the wake of water scarcity in most parts of Karnataka.

A heat wave condition is when the temperature is 2-3 degrees higher than normal for around five days and there is no moisture in the air nor flow of wind.

The relative humidity is also less. If moisture in the atmosphere increases, heat wave will reduce. Cases of deaths due to heat wave conditions are mostly reported in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Vijayapura and Ballari. There are occasional cases of casualties from central Karnataka.

Deaths of infants reported :  A large number of newborns are being admitted to hospitals for dehydration in the Raichur district, where temperatures have been in the range of 40-42 degree Celsius.

A total of 50 newborns have been admitted to the government and private hospitals in the district in the last two weeks after they fell ill due to dehydration. Two babies have died of dehydration at the Raichur Medical College Hospital. The newborns tend to be restive or remain inactive, suffer from fever due to high temperature, if they do not urinate six to eight times in 24 hours (which is the norm for newborns) or if they are not breastfed eight to 10 times in a day. This may result in jaundice among the newborns or even kidney failure.

Paediatricians in Raichur suggest that parents should take the babies to the doctor as soon as they notice fever. They say that the problem has become common among newborns from rural areas.