Heatwave devastates remote Nepal regions

Thousands of people in a remote district in Nepal have fallen ill due to an intensive heat wave across the region, it was reported today.

Over 20% of the population – 50,000 people – now also face possible food shortages due to drought as Accham in western Nepal has not received a drop of rain for three weeks.

Temperatures have reportedly soared past the average of 35C to a high of 41C.

Many residents of the impoverished district are now suffering from diarrhoea, typhoid, high fever and dysentery.

Hospitals and health centres in the region are providing round-the-clock service to help treat the increasing number of people falling ill.

The district hospital alone reportedly has received at least 500 patients every day.

“They just keep on coming. Hospitals and health centres have run out of beds,” Dr Purshottam Raj Sodaya, the chief of the District Public Health Office, said.

“Many people are being kept on the verandas and wherever there is open space,” he told the Nepalnews.

He added that although they have not faced a shortage of medicines yet, they might run low on stocks soon. “If the situation persists, we cannot say anything,” he said.

The drought, coupled with soaring temperatures, has already destroyed an estimated 50% of the crops in the district.