Migrant Workers Walking Home Have Been Hit By Another Challenge - Heat Wave Across The Country

Life has not been easy for the millions of migrant workers across the country since the past two months due to the lockdown. While many are still on the roads, on their way back home others are in government-run quarantine facilities after reaching their hometowns.

There is more bad news for those who are still on the road as the India Meteorological Department predicted that 'severe heat wave' condition is likely to prevail over Rajasthan.

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The weatherman further predicted that states such as Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh are also likely to be hit by heatwave conditions. "Heatwave conditions over some parts with the severe heatwave at isolated pockets very likely over Rajasthan and heatwave conditions in some parts very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Vidarbha during next 4-5 days; over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam and Telangana during next three days and over Marathwada and Rayalaseema during next 2 days," the IMD stated in its All India Weather Warning Bulletin.

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On Saturday Nagpur in Maharashtra recorded the season's highest temperature at 46.5 degree Celsius. The day temperature at many places in Uttar Pradesh has also risen above forty degrees Celsius the meteorological department said.

In the national capital too the temperature broke the 45 degrees mark on Saturday. Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting center of the IMD, said a heatwave is likely to continue over Delhi-NCR on weekend due to hot and dry northwesterly winds prevailing over northwest India.

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In large areas, a heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is 45 degrees Celsius for two consecutive days and the severe heatwave is when the mercury touches the 47 degrees Celsius-mark for two days on the trot. In small areas, like Delhi, a heatwave is declared if the temperature soars to 45 degrees Celsius even for a day, according to the IMD.

Severe heat waves are likely to impact parts of northwest, central and peninsular India in the next four to five days, while many parts of northeast India will experience very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall during the same period, IMD said in a statement on Saturday.

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The heatwave is likely to affect the Covid-19 pandemic response across many parts of the country. This is particularly a challenge especially in the rural areas where hundreds of returning migrant workers are sheltered in temporary facilities, mostly schools that are converted as isolation centers.

Housing hundreds of people with no adequate facilities to protect them from the sweltering heat is going to be a huge challenge in the coming days.