Indian voters are battling sweltering conditions as they take part in the country's general election, while a severe heatwave which is sweeping across many parts of the country is threatening to dampen voter turnout.
As parliamentary voting continues, much of India is engulfed buy searing temperatures which are posing a major challenge for election officials trying to encourage eligible voters to cast their ballots in the election, which is being conducted across seven phases from April 19 through to June 1.
Election Commission officials are struggling to stay cool as they carry out their duties. As they are responsible for transporting Electronic Voting Machines to polling booths, setting them up, and overseeing the voting process, it can be tiring work amid this unrelenting heat.
"The weather is somewhere around 44-45 degrees [Celsius] nowadays. We have to handle it, we have to go through the challenges because we need to conduct the elections smoothly," said Parag Sharma, polling officer in Agra, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The task before these officials is to boost voter turnout which has been on the decline during the first three phases of the election compared to the corresponding phases of previous polls.
"In the light of the current heatwave situation, we have received specific directions from the commission to ensure that proper arrangements are made in the booth. In that regard, we've ensured that there is proper shade, shelter for the people who are there to look after the arrangements, the staff that is there as well as the ones who are going to go there for voting," said Pratibha Singh, the chief development officer of Agra.
In addition to these measures, the Election Commission has also extended daily voting times by an extra hour in many states. Under these conditions, many locals may be hesitant to head out, but some are still braving the scorching sun and are determined to have their say in the election.
"I have come prepared. I have had water and other body cooling liquids to hydrate myself so that the heat has less impact on my body," said Sachin Jain, a voter.
"It would have been more comfortable for the voters if these elections were conducted in the months of February or March or in winters. That would have increased the voter turnout," said Anjal, another local resident.
Mindful of the impact of the weather, the Election Commission has formed a task force to monitor heat conditions before every phase of the elections, but with high temperatures predicted for the entire month of May, there seems to be no respite.
"If you talk about the month as a whole, we are very likely to experience high temperatures over northwest India, also in central India and along the west coast specifically," said Naresh Kumar, a senior scientist from the Indian Meteorological Department.
Officials previously said they expected nearly 970 million people to cast their votes at over 1 million polling stations across the country during the lengthy election process, as incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeks to win a third term.
Severe heatwave in India hindering voter turnout in general election
