Doctors advise people over 60 to stay indoors as India’s northern state swelters

At least 34 people have died in the past two days as a large swath of the north Indian state Uttar Pradesh swelters under severe heat, officials said Saturday, prompting doctors to advise residents over 60 to stay indoors during the daytime.
The dead were all over 60 years old and had preexisting health conditions that may have been exacerbated by the intense heat. The fatalities occurred in Ballia district, some 300 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh.
Ballia’s Chief Medical Officer Jayant Kumar said, twenty-three deaths were reported Thursday and another 11 died Friday.
He said most of the deaths were because of heart attack, brain stroke and diarrhea.
Diwakar Singh, another medical officer, said these people were admitted to Ballia’s main hospital in critical condition.
India Meteorological Department data shows Ballia reported a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, which is 4.7 C (8 F) above normal.