Indian capital Delhi reported its first heat-related fatality of the year as temperatures soared to record levels, according to media reports Thursday.
Parts of northwest and central India have been experiencing heat wave to severe heat wave conditions for weeks, and the temperature in Delhi reached a record high of 52.9 degrees Celsius (127.22 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Mungeshpur neighborhood Wednesday.
That reading may be revised, however, as maximum temperatures in other parts of the city ranged from 45.2 degrees Celsius to 49.1 degrees Celsius.
The capital territory's first heat-related fatality this year was a 40-year-old laborer who died of heatstroke Wednesday, The Indian Express newspaper reported.
Delhi's lieutenant governor directed the government on Wednesday to ensure measures were taken to protect laborers by providing water and shaded areas at construction sites and granting them paid leave from noon to 3 p.m.
Delhi recorded a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius which felt like 37.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, according to India's weather department.
It has predicted that heat wave to severe heat wave conditions over northwest and central India will begin reducing gradually from today.
India classifies a heat wave as a situation where the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius to 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal while a severe heat wave occurs when the maximum is higher than normal by 6.5 degrees or more.
