Kerala’s bad times with weather continues. Less than eight months after the disastrous floods, the State is reeling under a severe heat wave. March was cruel, and April looks worse. Since summer began, four people have died and nearly 1,000 have suffered sunburn and sunstroke. Wildfires, often caused by humans, have destroyed large tracts of forests.
The Kerala Disaster Management Authority has warned people, including politicians on election campaign, against venturing out in the sun. The temperature rose to 41 degrees Celsius in some parts of Kerala against an average high of 36 degrees. The India Met Department has called for vigil as all districts except Wayanad are projected to see a rise in temperature by two or three degrees. Particularly vulnerable are Palakkad and Alappuzha. Summer showers have mostly stayed away. The vanishing of ponds, streams and rivulets and the emergence of concrete jungles are being blamed for the unwelcome change in temperature.
Shades of gold: Indian laburnum (Cassia fistula), or Kanikkonnna in Malayalam, is the State flower of Kerala. It blooms during Vishu in the peak of summer. To a vast majority of Keralites, the flower is a symbol of summer. A scene from Koduvayoor near Palakkad.
Inferno: A man douses a fire raging through a paddy field in suburban Thrissur. In this heat, even a cigarette butt can start a fire.
Sun of the soil: A woman shields herself from the sun as she walks past election posters.
On the mend: Fishermen mend their nets in the shadow of a building at the Kollam harbour port.
Cool it: A spray of water refreshes a pair of bikers in Puthanathani in Malappuram district.
On the rocks: An oracle, or ‘Velichappadu’, believed to be a harbinger of summer, at Kallekulangara village near Palakkad.
Drink to that: Cool water from a clay pitcher and a palm-frond fan help beat the heat at Puthur in Palakkad.
Shade at last: Workers find refuge under a bridge at Yakkara in Palakkad. Workers are now given a break from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thin cover: A canopy erected by merchants over Pookkaran Street in Palakkad town as a shield against the fierce sun.
Lotus eater: Lotus plants wilt in the heat in Tirunavaya in Malappuram district.