Fruit spilled because there is no refrigerator, even if the fan is stored for force majeure reasons

As the scorching sun poured down on the fruit cart, Mohammad Ikrar felt depressed again as another day passed in frustration as he had to dump dozens of rotting mangoes and melons.

India is experiencing a record heat wave, what happened to Mohammad is also common sense. The 38-year-old man does not have a refrigerator. This means that his fruit quickly spoils. At the end of the day, Mohammad’s half-sold fruit could only be fed to the cows.

Mohammad said, since April, he has lost up to 3,000 rupees (equivalent to nearly 900,000 VND) a week. That makes up almost half of his average weekly earnings.

A worker drinks water from a tank truck at a construction site.

“This heat is really torture. But one day, I also have to try to buy an air conditioner or refrigerator.” Mohammad said. He wore a shirt with sleeves and covered his head with a white scarf to keep warm, in the hot weather of 44 degrees Celsius.

At home, Mohammad and his family suffered power cuts for hours day and night. That renders the ceiling fan useless in their one-room home in Noida, a satellite city of the capital New Delhi.

Mohammad had to send all three of his children to an air-conditioned school to avoid the heat.

“I sweat all day, then sweat all night. There’s no way to cool off. I haven’t experienced anything like this since I moved here 8 years ago.”said the man selling the fruit.

Mohammad held up a snapshot of the hardships of people in India not being able to use air conditioning amid widespread power outages.

According to a report released by Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) on March 17, nearly 323 million people across India are suffering from extreme heat and lack of cooling equipment such as fans and cabinets. cold.

Temperatures in some parts of the capital New Delhi spiked above 49°C last week, after India recorded its hottest March in 122 years, with April unusually hot.

Temperatures here are forecast to be cooler when the monsoon rains arrive in June.

A laborer works at a construction site on a hot summer day in Noida, India. Photo taken on May 12.

Vehicles move on the road in a haze of dust amid hot weather on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India.

Laborers work at a construction site on a hot summer day in Noida, India.

A woman walking covers her face to avoid the hot sun.

People relax under a bridge on the Yamuna River in New Delhi, India.

A veterinarian supplies medicine to a dehydrated eagle on a hot summer day at Jivdaya Charity Trust, a non-governmental rehabilitation center for birds and animals in Ahmedabad, India.

Workers at a construction site.

A few men tried to cool off under running water.

A boy jumps into the Sabarmati River to cool off during hot weather in Ahmedabad, India.

A man cools off under a running water pipe on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India.

People collect water from a hole at an abandoned quarry on a hot day in Badama village, northern Uttar Pradesh state, India.

Woman carrying a pail to fetch water.

People dry wheat on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India.

Source: Reuters