Rescue teams in Gujarat (western India) are finding birds that have fallen from the sky every day due to exhaustion and dehydration as a severe heatwave continues into its third month, with mercury levels rising again this week.
A caretaker in Ahmedabad gives a long-tailed parrot a multivitamin after discovering it was dehydrated due to the heatwave. (Photo: Reuters/Amit Dave)
In the western state of Gujarat, temperatures have been hovering above 40 degrees Celsius for several weeks and could reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius. Rescue workers here encounter birds falling from the sky every day. So far, the impact of excessive heat on wildlife has not received much attention.
According to rescue workers at an animal hospital managed by the non-profit Jivdaya Charity Trust in Gujarat, the condition of animals during this year’s heatwave has significantly worsened.
A staff member at the Jivdaya Charity Trust feeds an Indian flying fox at their hospital in Ahmedabad on May 3, 2022. (Photo: Getty Image)
Manoj Bhavsar, who has worked closely with the trust and has rescued birds for over a decade, told Reuters: “The number of birds needing rescue that we have witnessed has increased by 10%. Activists have been picking up these birds and bringing them to the hospital run by the trust for immediate care. They are being administered water via syringe and fed vitamin tablets.”
A veterinarian treats an eagle in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters/Amit Dave)
Severe heatwaves have begun much earlier this year in India and Pakistan, with the first wave recorded in early March. Although the changing pattern of heatwaves is becoming more intense and prolonged for various reasons, the underlying cause of this extreme weather phenomenon is climate change.
