India is suffering from an extreme heat wave with temperatures in some cities reaching over 45 degrees Celsius, with the Delhi metropolitan area even recording temperatures of up to 52.9 degrees Celsius, an unprecedented high.
On May 30, a court in the western Indian state of Rajasthan called on the government to declare a national emergency over the extreme heatwave that is currently raging in the South Asian country, with the death toll from the heat reportedly running into the hundreds.
India is suffering from an extreme heat wave with temperatures in some cities reaching over 45 degrees Celsius, with the Delhi metropolitan area even recording temperatures of up to 52.9 degrees Celsius, an unprecedented high.
In a statement, the high court of Rajasthan state, which has endured some of the hottest days in recent times, said the government had failed to take adequate and appropriate measures to protect people from the heat.
"Hundreds of people have died this month due to extreme hot weather conditions," the statement said.
The court called on the government to come up with contingency plans to deal with the situation, and asked the state government to set up compensation funds for the relatives of any person who died due to the heat.
The court also said that the Indian government should declare a national disaster emergency, allowing for relief operations similar to those in the case of floods, cyclones and other natural disasters.
India regularly experiences extreme weather in the summer. However, scientists say man-made climate change is making heat waves longer, more frequent and more intense, and causing more severe effects.
As temperatures in the capital New Delhi soared this week, electricity use in the city of about 30 million people rose to a record on May 29.
On May 30, the Delhi metropolitan government held an emergency meeting to discuss measures to address the water shortage crisis caused by prolonged extreme heat.
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