Hottest day in city; death toll nears 900

HYDERABAD: The city recorded its hottest day on Sunday, with the mercury touching 43.9 degrees Celsius.
The death toll due to the heatwave also increased to 884 on Sunday.
Official figures said that Nalgonda recorded 192 deaths followed by 138 in Guntur and 130 in West Godavari.
Five persons also died of sunstroke in the city.
“It is a severe heatwave condition and temperature is likely to remain about 42 to 43 degrees Celsius for the next 48-hours,�meteorological department director C V V Bhadram said.
The reason for the high temperature is the delay in the onset of monsoon, he explained. “Strong dry northerly winds are sweeping the state, causing the temperatures to rise,� he said. This condition has been recorded in earlier years too when there was a delay in monsoon, Bhadram said.
Though the sky was cloudy in the evening, the clouds were not rain-bearing clouds, Bhadram said.
However, parts of the state like Rayalaseema, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Kurnool, Anantapur, Bapatla and Ongole received some showers.
Last year the highest temperature in the city was 42.3 degrees Celsius, he said.