India's emergency in slow motion
India is in the grip of a deadly heat wave. Daytime temperatures in many states have been running upward of 110 degrees, while nighttime temperatures have barely been dropping below 100 degrees. As a result of these oppressive temperatures, almost 2,000 people have died, with the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Telangana bearing the brunt of the fatalities.
And while heat-related deaths are an annual feature of India's summers -- every year, about a thousand people die of heatstroke or of heat-exacerbated illnesses, and thousands more are taken to clinics and hospitals for treatment -- it looks like this year might be a tragically record-breaking one.… Seguir leyendo »