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Picture courtesy: (AFP) Ajay Chauhan, head of the Delhi heat stroke clinic, stands in the emergency room.
(The Post News) – The increase in heatwaves had swept across northern India, with a minimum temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius, causing India’s first heat stroke emergency room to battle with the heat crisis around Delhi.
The Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RMLH) clinic is the first to have a heat stroke emergency room in India to save heat stroke patients.
The emergency room would at least help with the challenges posed by the rapid climate and health emergencies.
The heatwave had claimed dozens of lives in the National Capital. The authorities held an emergency meeting with the heads of hospitals to work together to create a heatwave emergency room for patients.
Heat stroke is the most severe heat illness, characterised by three key symptoms: a core body temperature of 40.5°C (105°F) or higher and changes in mental status such as mild confusion or impaired consciousness.
Known as a silent killer, heat stroke can cause victims to fall ill hours after sun exposure. India’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that heat strokes are life-threatening illnesses.
Delhi has been reeling under an extended heatwave crisis, with daily temperatures around 40 °C (104 °F) during May, increasing to nearly 50 °C.
Humidity and hot winds worsen the situation, including water shortages and power shortages due to soaring demand. The weather office announced that they will forecast above-normal temperatures during this month as well.
Hospitals in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) are facing challenges due to an influx of patients suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion as temperatures continue to go up.
Ajay Chauhan, head of the Delhi heat stroke clinic, argued that he has never seen so many patients at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RMLH), stated that there was an unprecedented heatwave.
In his 13 years of working at the hospital, he doesn’t recall signing a death certificate for heat stroke in his profession; however, this year, he signed several due to the heatwave conditions.
Since Dr. Chauhan’s hospital in Delhi opened a heat stroke clinic in late May, seven heat stroke-related deaths have been reported, and at least 40 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses.
Media reports indicate that there have been 20 fatalities due to heat-related illnesses in the REGION. Guddi, a sugarcane juice vendor who operates a manual crusher, argued that the heat situation is getting worse every day.
They are currently living under the open sky with fewer resources at his disposal, at least there should be some trees and plants around to provide the fresh air that keeps blowing, and the body gets relief.
The heatwave is not only affecting Delhi; dozens of people have died of heat-related illnesses since March, and at least 50 deaths in just three days in early June have been reported in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
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