New Delhi: The record-breaking heatwave in the national capital claimed the life of a man from Bihar on Wednesday. The man, who worked at a factory specializing in pipeline fittings, was admitted at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Monday night after he suffered a heat stroke. This is the first heat-stroke related death in the national capital this summer.

According to sources, the body temperature of the victim had crossed the 107 degree Celsius-mark -- nearly 10 degrees above normal. Sources revealed that the man was living in a room without a cooler or fan and had high fever.

This year, Delhi has been witnessing record temperatures with mercury soaring above 46 degree-mark at many places amid all-time high power demand and a crippling water crisis.

Record-Breaking Temperature

On Wednesday, the Mungeshpur observatory recorded the highest temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius -- the highest-ever for any station in the country. Later in the evening, the weather office clarified that the high temperature reading in Mungeshpur could be due to to a sensor error or local factors. The  India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials are investigating the reading.

IMD Director General M Mohapatra said that of the 20 monitoring stations in Delhi, 14 recorded a dip in temperature yesterday and the average across the city was in the 45-50 degree Celsius range. He termed the Mungeshpur station an "outlier", and said the recording needs to be confirmed.

The residents of the national capital are reeling under a severe heat for the past week. To add to their woes, several parts of the city are experiencing a water crisis. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has accused the Haryana government of refusing to release Delhi’s share of Yamuna water. They alleged that due to the move by Haryana, the Yamuna water level has decreased. The city government had made an announcement to implement a slew of measures to tackle water scarcity in the city by reducing the amount of water supplied to different areas. The government said that many places in the city that were earlier getting water in two shifts would get water only once in a day and the remaining water will be supplied to the areas mostly hit by the crisis. 
Areas such as Geeta Colony and some parts of Chanakyapuri are getting limited water supply through tankers.

Rs 2,000 Fine For Wasting Water in Delhi

Delhi water minister Atishi also urged the residents to use water efficiently. She also warned people against wasting water. Moreover, the government has imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the violators.

As many as 200 teams have been formed by the government to identify and check water wastage cases. Activities such as washing cars with hose pipe, overflowing water tanks and use of drinking water for commercial purposes is prohibited.