Delayed monsoon pushes suspected heat stroke cases, most from Vidarbha

Of the total registered cases, as many as 2,121 are from 12 districts of Maharashtra. With 412 heat stroke cases, Raigad tops the chart, followed by Wardha (334), Nagpur (317), Chandrapur (177), Nandurbar (173), Latur (169), Mumbai (155), Thane (153), Aurangabad (124), Yavatmal (97), Nanded (96) and Solapur (91).

“Most cases are from rural regions where farmers work in the open under the sun, which leads to heat strokes,” said Dr Nitin Ambadekar, Director of Health Services, in Maharashtra. “We have instructed the districts to sensitise farmers and discourage them from working in the afternoons,” he added.

Meanwhile, the state government has taken several initiatives to deal with heat strokes. Under the newly constituted heat-action plan, daily labourers and farmers have been advised to avoid working from 1–4 pm. Infact, in the height of summer, work timings at Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act have been changed. “Laborers work in the morning, then they get a break from 1-4 pm. We have also instructed them to install drinking water facilities around the work area,” said Dr Bhavna Sonkusare, district health officer of Nagpur Municipal Corporation.

Heat stroke is considered a medical emergency which occurs due to sudden overheating of the body as a result of exposure to extremely high temperatures, or due to prolonged physical exertion at very high temperatures. When temperatures are very high, the body fails to sweat adequately to cool down, subsequently leading to an increase in core body temperature. Subsequently, within a few minutes the body temperature can rise up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. This impacts the functioning of other organs and can cause severe health implications including death.

However, despite the rise in cases, fatalities due to heat stroke remain at 12, all of which were related to Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony held in Kharghar in April. None of the other 35 districts have witnessed any deaths. This is in stark contrast to last year when Maharashtra reported 18 confirmed heat stroke deaths of 31 suspected fatalities till May 31, 2022.