The prolonged exposure to the sun in a ceremony held by the authorities of the western state of Maharashtra, in Navi Mumbai (western India), last Sunday, has left 11 dead.
The event, attended by thousands of people, was held in an open space and today, the head of government of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, has confirmed that the deceased were among the fifty people who were transferred to hospitals with different symptoms due to long exposure to the sun, dehydration and high temperatures. "This is a case of heat stroke," Shinde told reporters.
The ceremony, attended by leaders including Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, was held on an open-air ground with no shady spaces, on a day when thermometers peaked at 38 degrees Celsius.
The Indian meteorological authorities earlier this April forecast an above-average rise in temperatures for the next three summer months, in which in some parts of the country they usually exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
International and environmental organizations have warned of a serious change in temperatures in this country of more than 1,400 million inhabitants, which means an increase in drought and, with it, the danger to crops.
World Weather Attribution, which brings together weather experts from various institutions around the world, already warned last year that the climate crisis could make devastating heat, ever earlier in India and Pakistan, 30 times more likely.
