Jaipur: Rajasthan is now battling a scorching summer. Under relentless heat wave conditions the temperature has now crossed 45 degrees Celsius in all districts of the state. Over the past 24 hours, the mercury has soared beyond 48 degrees in Barmer and Ganganagar and over 47 degrees in Churu and Chittorgarh districts. Normal routines for most people are badly affected, but the worst hits are daily wage earners, who face the brunt of the harsh sun.
As he works on a blazing afternoon to construct a multi-storied building in Jaipur, Ratan Lal is a worried man. Despite the heat of over 45 degrees Celsius, Ratan has to work to feed his family, as he is one of the 8 lakh daily wage earners, who toil in Jaipur.
"I have no choice but to earn everyday, whether it's too cold or too hot. The big problem in this heat is that we keep sweating the whole day, even the stones we work with are now too hot and we are scared that we may become ill," said a construction worker from Jaipur, Ratan Lal.
But it's not just in Jaipur. The scorching heat and hot winds blowing through the day have disrupted people's daily routines across Rajasthan, especially in districts like Ganganagar and Barmer, where the mercury has now soared beyond 48 degree Celsius and everyone is looking for ways to beat the heat.
"It's terribly hot now. We have never seen such high temperatures in the past. To save ourselves, we cover our heads throughout the day," said one the residents of Barmer.
What makes the heat more unbearable is that even night temperatures in most areas have now mounted, well beyond 30 degrees. That's nearly 6 to 7 degrees above normal.
"When the day temperature becomes too high, its effect is felt even at night. Since the temperature all over the state is between 44 to 48 degree Celsius, its impact is now being felt at night also," said S K Singh, Director, Metrological Department.
With the metrological Department predicting that hot westerly's will continue to blow over the next few days, there's little hope of any respite in the near future.
Meanwhile, the scorching heat wave across west and central India has killed 23 people, including three CRPF jawans in Gwalior. Bhopal has recorded its highest temperatures in 63 years at 46 degrees. Fourteen people have died of the heat in Gujarat, five of them in Ahmedabad. In Rajasthan, six people, including a woman died in Haduatti region due to heat stroke as the mercury shot up to 47.2 degrees. Kota was the hottest at a high of 48.2 degrees. (
Read: Heat claims 23 lives across India)