Pune, Delhi report heat illnesses

Pune’s April heat is now showing up in clinics, with the city reporting more than 700 heat-linked illness cases in about a month. (thebridgechronicle.com) The Pune civic health department said patients were treated for dehydration, fatigue, dizziness and skin problems, and one heatstroke case was recorded. Lohegaon hit 41.8 degrees Celsius and Shivajinagar reached 39.7 degrees Celsius on April 16. (thebridgechronicle.com) Delhi also moved back into 40-degree weather on April 16, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting intense heat in parts of the capital after a cooler start to April. Times Now reported local complaints of dehydration and heatstroke-like symptoms as temperatures climbed. (timesnownews.com) At Safdarjung, Delhi’s base observatory, the maximum had been 38.2 degrees Celsius on April 14, and forecasts then pointed to a rise to 40 degrees Celsius by April 15 and 42 degrees Celsius by April 17. Lodhi Road later recorded 40.1 degrees Celsius on April 16, according to local reports. (hindustantimes.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com, indiatvnews.com) The India Meteorological Department defines a heat wave in the plains at 40 degrees Celsius or higher when the temperature is also far above normal, and says prolonged exposure can trigger heat illness, especially for infants, older adults and people with chronic disease. (mausam.imd.gov.in, internal.imd.gov.in) This April outlook was already tilted hotter. The India Meteorological Department said on April 1 that parts of east, central and northwest India were likely to see an above-normal number of heatwave days between April and June 2026. (indianexpress.com) Maharashtra’s statewide numbers show the same pattern building beyond Pune. State health department data cited by Indian Express showed 15 heatstroke cases from March 1 to April 12, with no confirmed deaths, while a separate Pune report said more than 600 people in the city had already been treated for heat-related illness by mid-April. (indianexpress.com, punekarnews.in) India’s health authorities tell states to treat heat like a public-health emergency, with hospital preparedness, ambulance planning, worker protections, drinking water access and daily surveillance of heat-related illness. National guidance also tells employers to shift heavy outdoor work to morning and evening hours. (ncdc.mohfw.gov.in, ncdc.mohfw.gov.in, ncdc.mohfw.gov.in) For now, the numbers from Pune’s hospitals and the readings from Delhi’s weather stations are pointing in the same direction: mid-April heat is arriving early enough, and hard enough, to show up in both thermometers and patient counts. (thebridgechronicle.com, timesnownews.com, mausam.imd.gov.in)