Karnataka Health Minister urges public to take protective measures against heatwave

BENGALURU: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday advised the public to take measures to protect themselves against the rising temperatures in the state.

The Karnataka Health Minister also informed that the Commissioner of the Health Department has instructed District Health Officers to ensure that all hospitals have medicines readily available for appropriate treatment in case of various heat-related issues.

Taking to his social media handle, Karnataka Health Minister posted on X, "The summer heat is intensifying day by day in the state, and people are struggling to cope with the excessive heat. The maximum temperature has hovered around 40 degrees for the past month, leading to a surge in hospital visits due to various heat-related issues such as sunstroke, migraines, and skin problems."

"Additionally, there has been a significant increase in bacterial and viral infections. In response to the rising number of cases, the Commissioner of the Health Department has instructed District Health Officers to ensure that all hospitals have life-saving medicines readily available for appropriate treatment," the post read.

"I urge everyone to take precautionary measures to protect themselves from the heat. With summer coinciding with exam time, it is especially important for students to take extra care of their health," added the post.

Meanwhile, the Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) last week urged all district collectors to prepare a contingency plan in view of likely heatwave conditions in the state from March to May.

The Odisha SRC said that as the Election Commission has declared the schedule for the general elections, the National Disaster Management Authority Joint Secretary has communicated the need for effective heat wave management in the state.

The SRC said that during the election season, there might be extreme heatwave conditions that may pose a challenge to health and the conduct of elections.