Telangana’s temperature spike has coincided with a 10–20 per cent rise in fever cases at Khammam hospitals, while Manuguru recorded the State’s highest maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, according to officials and the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Hyderabad.
The IMD has indicated that the upcoming winter season could see temperatures around 4–5 degrees Celsius above normal because of prevailing atmospheric and regional weather patterns. Several parts of Telangana recorded above-normal maximum temperatures on Friday, with Manuguru in Kothagudem district recording 37 degrees Celsius. The same location recorded 35 degrees Celsius on the corresponding day last year.
The average maximum temperature in Telangana during October is 33 degrees Celsius. Other locations recording high temperatures included Gollapalle in Jagtial district, Gurrampode in Nalgonda district, Mamda in Nirmal district and Chivvemla in Suryapet district, all of which recorded 36.9 degrees Celsius. Their maximum temperatures on the corresponding day last year were 34.8, 35, 35 and 35 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The warmer conditions have caused discomfort among residents and coincided with a rise in viral fever cases across rural and urban areas of Khammam district. Government and private hospitals have reported more patients with fever, colds, coughs, body aches and headaches.
A door-to-door fever survey conducted by the district Medical and Health Department during the first week of October identified thousands of affected people. Patients from Khammam and neighbouring districts, including Suryapet, Nalgonda, Mahabubabad and Kothagudem, have also been arriving at the Government General Hospital in Khammam.
Government General Hospital Superintendent Dr Narender said fever cases had increased by 10–20 per cent because of weather changes, while outpatient numbers had also risen. The hospital had 20 fever patients in its wards, including four who had tested positive for dengue.
Dr Narender said dengue and malaria test kits, medicines and doctors were available in sufficient quantities, and that the hospital was not facing a shortage. The department was prepared to manage the situation even if fever cases increased further.
The immediate concern for district health services is the simultaneous increase in heat-related discomfort, viral fever cases and dengue detections across a region serving patients from several neighbouring districts. Officials have not reported a shortage of medicines or diagnostic supplies, and the health department’s door-to-door survey remains the main ongoing response identified in the report.
