Birds are falling from the sky in India as a record heatwave dries up water sources

Alia Shoaib
Updated ·2 min read
A caretaker feeds water mixed with multivitamins to a parakeet dehydrated due to heat at Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad.
A caretaker feeds water mixed with multivitamins to a parakeet dehydrated due to heat at Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad.Amit Dave/Reuters

  • Dehydrated birds are falling from the sky in India as a record heatwave dries up water sources.

  • In India's Gujarat state dozens of high flying birds such as pigeons or kites are falling from the sky daily.

  • This month temperatures were expected to peak at around 122°F near the India and Pakistan border.

Dehydrated birds are falling from the sky in India as a record heatwave dries up water sources, veterinary doctors and animal rescuers said, according to Reuters.

In India's western Gujarat state, currently averaging temperatures over 110°F, dozens of high flying birds, including pigeons and kites, have been dropping out of the sky every day, Reuters reported.

Vets in an animal hospital in Ahmedabad said they had treated thousands of birds in recent weeks, the outlet said.

A vet provides medicine to an eagle after it was dehydrated due to heat at Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad.
A vet provides medicine to an eagle after it was dehydrated due to heat at Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad.Amit Dave/Reuters

"This year has been one of the worst in recent times. We have seen a 10% increase in the number of birds that need rescuing," Manoj Bhavsar, who works with the trust and has been rescuing birds for over a decade, told Reuters.

Vets have been injecting water into birds' mouths with syringes and feeding them multivitamin tablets.

Other animals, including cats, have also been suffering from dehydration.

Vets administer saline drip to a cat that is covered by a wet cloth after it was dehydrated due to heat at Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad.
Vets administer saline drip to a cat that is covered by a wet cloth after it was dehydrated due to heat at Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad.Amit Dave/Reuters

Since March, large parts of India and Pakistan have been suffering from searing temperatures, which the World Meteorological Organization said was India's hottest March.

This month temperatures were expected to peak at around 122°F near the India and Pakistan border.

The nearly "unsurvivable" heat is increasingly the result of human-caused climate change, according to Yale Climate Connections.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned of fire risk from the extreme temperatures, and hospitals in Gujarat have been warned to set up special wards to treat heatstroke and other heat-related diseases, Reuters said.

India has recorded 25 deaths resulting from heatstroke since March, and residents have described vomiting, dizziness, and skin rashes caused by the heat.

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