VOA标准英语2009-Severe Heat Wave Grips Many Parts of India

（单词翻译）

A severe heat wave sweeping¹ across the plains of India has claimed at least 100 lives. It has also led to power and water shortages in many parts of the country, including the capital, New Delhi.
　
Dogs join daily wage laborers² and rickshaw pullers as they take rest seated over wet sand to keep off the heat in New Delhi, 26 Jun 2009

As temperatures hovered³ around 44 degrees Celsius⁴ across northern, eastern and central India, officials in several states reported scores of heat-related deaths. Many of the victims belong to India's poorest states such as Orissa and Jharkhand.

In Orissa, hospitals opened special wards⁵ for heat stroke victims.

High temperatures are common starting May, but seasonal⁶ monsoon⁷ rains usually bring some cooling showers in June. However there has been no respite⁸ from the scorching⁹ weather due to poor rains in recent weeks.

The impact of the prolonged heat spell has been aggravated¹⁰ by acute power and water shortages in many parts of the country.

In New Delhi, angry residents in parts of the city have held street protests to draw attention to the dry taps and lengthy¹¹ power outages.

Purnima Mehta, who lives in Delhi's posh South Delhi area, complains of power outages for up to six hours a day.

"Lack of power leads to immense discomfort¹² for everyone, and of course water is a basic necessity, and without that how can any household function?" Mehta asked.

Officials say there is little they can do to ease the situation. Levels in water reservoirs have fallen, and power stations are unable to cope with the huge surge in demand as air conditioners work overtime¹³.

New Delhi's chief minister, Shiela Dikshit, has warned of tough days ahead if monsoon rains do not arrive soon, and is asking people to conserve¹⁴ both water and power.

The warning came after officials forecast that monsoons¹⁵ are likely to be "below normal", and the maximum shortfall will be in northwestern India.

Minister of Earth Sciences Prithviraj Chavan said this week that government officials are monitoring the situation that may arise due to the deficit¹⁶ in rains.

"There are many implications about irrigation, about electricity generation, about drinking water and steps to mitigate¹⁷ that would be taken," Chavan said.

Officials have resorted to a variety of measures to cope with the situation. In New Delhi, summer vacations in schools have been extended by one week to protect school children from the blazing sun. In Punjab - a rich, agricultural state - the state government has ordered that air conditioners in government offices should be turned off so that power can be conserved¹⁸ to pump water to farms. In Andhra Pradesh, the government has drawn¹⁹ up plans for cloud seeding operations if rains are delayed further.