Clear skies across the Indian subcontinent are creating an annual period of deadly heat before the arrival of the monsoon season.
The Indian subcontinent’s annual stretch of pre-monsoon heat has killed at least six people in Pakistan, where temperatures soared to 118 degrees Fahrenheit during the first week of May.
Three people, including an elderly woman, died in Khanpur in the scorching eastern province of Punjab, where the country’s hottest temperatures were recorded, according to the Urdu-language Daily Express newspaper.
Increased demand placed on the power grid by the use of air conditioners caused frequent blackouts, some lasting up to 16 hours. Utility officials say the country is currently facing a shortage of more than 3,000 megawatts.
Last year at this time, more than 300 people died of oppressive heat across India and Pakistan.
The region’s famed season of heat and dust begins in April and often peaks in mid-May. The arrival of the southwest monsoon usually brings cooling rains by late June.
Photo: Earthbrowser
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