Dozens killed by extreme heat in India as polls close in world’s largest election

Extreme heat in India has killed at least 77 people over the past 10 days, including dozens of poll workers, as voting wrapped up in the world’s largest general election.

Extreme heat in India has killed at least 77 people over the past 10 days, including dozens of poll workers, as voting wrapped up in the world’s largest general election. India has endured a scorching summer — with a part of the capital of Delhi recording the country’s highest-ever temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday last week — as voters have hit the polls over a six-week election. At least 33 poll workers died in a single day in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, the state’s chief election officer, Navdeep Rinwa, told reporters Sunday. Their families will receive $18,000 each in compensation, he said. Despite being fitted out with water dispensers, mist machines and shaded areas, polling stations in Delhi were unusually quiet on Saturday, the penultimate day of voting. For some, casting a ballot was not worth the risk. Others urged eligible voters to try and tolerate the heat. Standing on the sweltering streets, a Delhi resident called Haseem told CNN that voting is “a fundamental right and the foremost duty for every citizen of any republic or any democracy. We should be coming out, whatever the weather.” A woman selling lemonade on the streets of Delhi told the AFP French news agency: “The heat is so harsh here, that when the wind comes, it feels like someone is slapping your face.”