Declare National Emergency Over Heatwave, Rajasthan High Court Urges Centre

The court directed the state government to set up compensation funds for relatives of any person who dies as a result of heat ailments.

The Rajasthan High Court has urged the Centre to declare a national emergency over the ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people had died during weeks of extreme weather. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius.

The court in Rajasthan, which has suffered through some of the hottest weather in recent days, said authorities had failed to take appropriate steps to protect the public from the heat.

"Due to extreme weather conditions in the form of (the) heatwave, hundreds of people have lost their lives this month,"  it said Thursday.