Karnakata Lok Sabha Bypolls: Five districts reel under extreme heat

Despite scattered rainfall, 14 Karnataka districts face heat wave conditions during today's elections, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius. Authorities have provided fans, drinking water, standby ambulances, and increased awareness to encourage voter turnout amidst the extreme weather.

Despite sporadic rains in most parts of Karnataka, the 14 segments going to polls today are facing heat wave-like conditions, with maximum temperatures ranging between 38 and 44 degrees Celsius in most districts.

Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena told PTI that they have factored in information on north Karnataka region witnessing higher than usual temperatures and have made all necessary arrangements to ensure that people are not deterred from coming out of their homes to vote.

"Fans and drinking water in the waiting areas as well as ambulances on standby are some of the arrangements made keeping the harsh weather in mind," he added.

The maximum temperatures forecasted for the 14 constituencies: Chikkodi (39 degree Celsius), Belgaum (38), Bagalkot (43), Bijapur (43), Gulbarga (43), Raichur (43.2), Bidar (41.5), Koppal (43.2), Bellary (41), Haveri (35.4), Dharwad (39.8), Uttara Kannada (37), Davangere (39.5) and Shimoga (39).

Although Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for most of the 14 districts, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has issued a red alert to five --Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri and Koppal till May 9.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)