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Mercury dips a notch but death toll rises: 14 in Ahmedabad, 36 in Gujarat

Besides the eight people who died of the heat during the day on Friday, two more people died late on Friday night bringing Friday's toll to 10.

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The unprecedented heat that has enveloped Ahmedabad for the last two days continues to be deadly, though the maximum temperature recorded in the city on Saturday was a notch lower than Friday's. But on Saturday 14 more persons from the city lost their lives to the scorching heat, while state’s toll was 36.  

Besides the eight people who died of the heat during the day on Friday, two more people died late on Friday night bringing Friday's toll to 10. Another 14 people succumbed to the heat on Saturday thus taking the total death toll from the current heat spell in the city in the last two days to 24. The highest temperatures recorded at different places in the state on Saturday were slightly lower than the highest of Friday. In Ahmedabad, too, the temperature did come down by 1.3 degrees but the maximum temperature in the city on Saturday stood at 45.5 degree Celsius, as against 46.8 degree Celsius on Friday.

Despite the slight fall in temperature across the state, the 'severe heat wave' warning issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday is still in place. Sources in the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Gujarat, said on Saturday that severe heat wave conditions will prevail in Kutch and Northern Gujarat for another day.

"Temperatures in several places in central and south Gujarat as also in Saurashtra have started coming down, and these spots are no longer under 'severe heat wave' conditions," a source said.

"But 'normal heat wave' conditions will prevail even in these parts."
IMD data show that Idar continues to be the hottest place in the state though here, too, the maximum temperature on Saturday had come down to 46.5 degree Celsius, from 48.5 degree Celsius recorded a day earlier. Deesa is the second hottest spot with 46 degree Celsius on Saturday. VV Nagar was the third hottest place in Gujarat, having recorded the maximum of 45.6 degree Celsius on Saturday.

While the maximum temperature in Ahmedabad came down by 1.3 degrees on Saturday, the minimum temperature in the city came down to 30.6, which is just 0.2 point lower than 30.8 of Friday. The minimum temperature in Idar on Saturday was 29.5 degree Celsius.

The maximum temperature in Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhuj, VV Nagar and Kandla came down to about 43 dc on Saturday. In all these places the maximum temperature on Friday was 45 degree Celsius or above.  Strangely, despite the slight decline in daily temperatures, cases of heat stroke and exhaustion have shown an alarming increase. Private hospitals and clinics report that there has been a 60 per cent increase in cases of gastroenteritis and jaundice.  Dr. Pragnesh Vachchrajani, secretary, Gujarat State Family Physicians` Forum, and vice-president, Ahmedabad Medical Association, confirmed the steep rise in the incidence of these diseases.

"Cases of dehydration, nausea, diarrhoea and heat and heat stroke have risen by about 40 percent in the last two days," he said.

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