HYDERABAD: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Coastal Andhra Pradesh for the next 48 hours and predicted that the heat wave conditions may subside in Telangana in the next 24 hours. The IMD bulletin came even as the death toll in both the States increased to 532 with as many as 84 deaths reported from across AP and 71 in Telangana on Sunday alone. The heat wave toll in Telangana since April 15 has now touched 199 while it has risen to 333 in AP since May 18. In Telangana, Nalgonda alone accounted for 55 deaths. In AP, Prakasam district reported 83 deaths followed by Visakhapatnam (53) and Vizianagaram (40). A senior official of the Telangana Disaster Management wing said 43 people died due to sunstroke in Khammam, 23 in Mahbubnagar district and two in Hyderabad. Fortunately, the heat wave seems to be subsiding as the mercury dropped a few notches at several places in Telangana on Monday. Ramagundam recorded the highest maximum temperature of 44.8 degree Celsius, Ni zamabad 44.4 and Hyderabad 41.5.
And, for the first time in a week, the weatherman predicted the heat wave may lose steam in the next 24 hours in Telangana and 48 hours in AP. However, the worst is not over yet and the weather will still be hot with mercury hovering around 42- 43 degree Celsius. “Therefore, people are advised to take precautions,” said YK Reddy, director-in-charge, Hyderabad Meteorological Centre. In the same breath, he said the IMD had issued a red alert for Coastal AP for the next 48 hours. A red alert is issued when maximum temperatures exceed 47 degrees Celsius. “A red alert, in other words, is a severe heat wave condition. While heat wave conditions are declared when temperatures breach the 45 mark, a red alert is issued when temperatures exceed 47,” explained Reddy.