According to the latest India Meteorological Department figures, over 1,500 people died across the country last year due to extreme weather conditions. IMD data showed that 2016 was the hottest year since 1901. In the list of casualties, Maharashtra ranked fifth with 146 deaths — a majority of casualties was due to flooding and heavy rainfall. The highest deaths in the country were recorded in Telangana with 300 casualties, all due to heat waves in the months between April and May. Bihar reported the second highest casualties with 238 person dying due to floods, lightening and cold waves. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh registered 168 and 149 deaths respectively, due to various extreme weather conditions. Watch What Else Is Making News Last year, 40 per cent of the total deaths was due to severe heat waves. More than 700 died due to the same in the country, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh together accounted for 400 deaths. Maharashtra recorded 43 such deaths. According to the IMD data, 63 people died due to flooding and rains in Maharashtra. While, 36 died in the state in the months of June and September, 27 bodies were found in the Savatri river after the Mahad bridge collapse on August 2. The IMD data indicates that heavy rainfall was noted in the west and north-west regions of the state. A heat wave that spanned between April and May covered more than three quarters of the state, leaving out the west and north-west belts of Maharashtra. Severe cases of lightening were sighted in the south and eastern most parts of the state in Vidarbha. Odisha alone recorded 132 deaths due to lightning, while 40 such deaths occurred in Maharashtra.
