インド北部、熱波で５０度　首都は５月最高気温を１８年ぶり更新

【ニューデリーＡＦＰ＝時事】熱波に見舞われているインドでは、北部で気温が50度に達し、首都ニューデリーでは5月の気温としては過去18年間で最高を記録した。（写真は インド・ニューデリーで木陰に座る人々）
　インド気象局によると、２６日に北西部ラジャスタン州チュルで気温５０度と観測史上最高を記録し、パンジャブ州、ハリヤナ州、ウッタルプラデシュ州の一部でも４０度台を記録した。
　気象局は、この暑さは北部であと数日は続くとみられると発表した。
　首都ニューデリーの一部では、５月の気温としては過去１８年間で最高となる４７．６度に達した。
　今年はこれまでのところ猛暑による死者は報告されていないが、昨年政府は２０１５年以降で約３５００人が死亡したと発表した。死者数は近年減少している。
　この熱波は、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大防止に取り組むインドにとって新たな問題となっている。同国の感染者数は世界で１０番目に多く、２７日時点で１５万人を突破。これまでに４５００人近くが亡くなった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/05/28-13:12）

India is wilting under a heatwave, with the temperature in places reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and the capital enduring its hottest May day in nearly two decades.
The hot spell is projected to scorch northern India for several more days, the Meteorological Department said late Tuesday, with severe heat wave conditions in isolated pockets.
As global temperatures rise, heatwaves are a regular menace in the country -- particularly in May and June. Last year dozens of people died.
Met officials said Churu in the northern state of Rajasthan was the hottest place on record on Tuesday, at 50 Celsius, while parts of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh sweltered in the high 40s.
Parts of the capital, New Delhi, recorded the hottest May day in 18 years with the mercury hitting 47.6 Celsius.
No deaths have been reported so far this year, but last year the government said the heat had killed 3,500 people since 2015. There have been fewer fatalities in recent years.
The country of 1.3 billion people suffers from severe water shortages with tens of millions lacking running water -- to say nothing of air conditioning.
Parts of Delhi and elsewhere regularly see scuffles when tankers arrive to deliver water. Last year Chennai made international headlines when the southern city ran out of water entirely.
The heatwave adds to problems the country already has dealing with the spread of coronavirus.
India now has the 10th highest number of coronavirus cases globally, climbing above 150,000 on Wednesday with almost 4,500 deaths.
Last week cyclone Amphan killed more than 100 people as it ravaged in eastern India and Bangladesh, flattening villages, destroying farms and leaving millions without power.
Huge swarms of desert locusts, meanwhile, have destroyed nearly 50,000 hectares (125,000 acres) of crops across western and central India, and may enter Delhi in coming days.
The north-eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya are also currently experiencing floods, with more heavy rainfall forecast in the coming days.