RISING temperatures across Kolkata have brought life in most major Indian cities to a standstill. However, veterinarian Partha Das is very busy with his work.
His clinic was flooded with people bringing in their beloved pets suffering from nosebleeds, severe skin rashes and unconsciousness due to the relentless heat wave that hit much of South and Southeast Asia over the past week.
“Many pets were also hospitalized for three or four days in a row, and they took a long time to return to normal,” the 57-year-old told AFP following the operation.
“We experience several cases of heatstroke in a day. “This has never happened before,” he said.
Kolkata has been battered by scorching heat for days, peaking at 43 degrees Celsius, which was the hottest day in April since 1954, according to the city’s weather agency.
The normally bustling streets of the colonial-era capital were almost deserted in the followingnoon as its 15 million residents did what they might to avoid exposure to the sun.
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However, cats and dogs who are lucky enough to have owners are also susceptible to falling ill.
Das said the heat had triggered a spike in dehydration-related illnesses in pets across the city.
Guru Sriparna Bose said her two cats became sullen and shy in a way she had never seen before when the heat wave hit.
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“They refuse food,” he said.
“They hid in a dark, cold corner of the room and didn’t want to come out,” he said.
The situation is even worse because the city government estimates that 70,000 stray dogs live on the city’s streets, having no owners but often being fed and cared for by local residents.
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Many of them spend their days sheltering from the sun under parked cars, while a lucky few are sprayed by sympathetic humans to help them cool off.
“They had difficulty standing on their tender feet because the roads were so hot,” said Gurshaan Kohli of the Humanimal Foundation, a local animal welfare charity for stray animals.
“Dozens of dogs and cats have died” even though he and his colleagues have taken them to clinics for treatment.
This year is worse
Much of South and Southeast Asia is battling a heatwave that has broken temperature records and forced millions of children to stay home as schools in the region closed.
Experts say climate change is making heat waves more frequent, longer and more intense, while the El Nino phenomenon has also caused unusually warm weather this year.
Hot temperatures have taken a toll on animals across the continent.
“They are eating less, and are reluctant to move,” Henna Pekko of Rescue PAWS, which operates an animal shelter near Thailand’s capital Bangkok, told AFP.
With temperatures in Thailand exceeding 40 degrees Celsius for the past week, Pekko said his charity had taken his rescuers to the sea to cool off by swimming while the elderly dogs were locked indoors.
“We are really taking extra precautions because of this weather,” he told AFP, adding that the heat stress on animals was the worst he had ever experienced in the kingdom.
“Last year was bad. “This year is worse,” he concluded. (AFP/Z-1)
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