Emergency response mechanisms were alerted across Kerala on Wednesday following a midday warning issued by the India Meteorology Department (IMD) that heatwave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated places in the State on April 27 and 28.
The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) issued an advisory to the State Police Chief, Director General of Fire and Rescue Services, Labour Commissioner, Director of Health Services, and District Collectors recommending precautionary measures to be adopted.
The advisory called for alert messages to be issued to hospitals, ambulance networks, anganwadis, public health centres, and workplaces in the wake of the severe weather warning. Water and ORS are to be stocked at these places and labourers are to be exempted from working in the open sunlight from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to avoid sunstroke or sunburn. All workplaces, hospitals, anganwadis, and PHCs have been asked to ensure cool drinking water and ORS packets to handle any contingency and directions issued to rush victims of sunstroke to the nearest hospital for further care. The public have been urged to avoid travel in open sunlight between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The warning is likely to be extended till April 30.
Heatwave conditions occur when the maximum temperature of a station reaches 40 degrees Celsius for the plains and 30 degrees Celsius for hilly regions or the maximum temperature departure from normal is 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius.
All-time record
Palakkad registered an all-time record maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius in the 24 hours till 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, the highest in Kerala. The previous record of 41.8 degrees Celsius was registered on April 15 and 22, 1987.
Temperature
reaches 29-year
high; Palakkad registers 41.9 degrees Celsius.
