In the midst of an intense heatwave in West Bengal, Lopamudra Sinha, an anchor for Doordarshan, fainted while delivering live news. Sinha, who is employed at the West Bengal branch of Doordarshan, took to Facebook to share details about her health condition.

In a video translated from Bengali to English, she explained, “While I was presenting the live news, my blood pressure suddenly dropped, and I lost consciousness. I had been feeling unwell for some time, but I thought drinking water would alleviate the discomfort. Normally, I don’t have water with me while reading the news, whether it’s a 10-minute segment or half an hour. I usually gesture to the floor manager and request a bottle of water. However, on that particular day, when the general news was being broadcast and no soundbites were playing, I couldn’t get any water. Finally, when a soundbite aired, I managed to have some water.”

“Initially, I thought I could complete the remaining four news stories. I somehow managed to finish two of them. The third story was about the heatwave, and as I was reading it, I started feeling increasingly unwell,” she added.

“I tried my best to hold myself together and complete the segment, but I couldn’t. During that story, my vision started to fade. The teleprompter dimmed, and I lost consciousness.”

Panagarh, located in the West Burdwan district, recorded the highest temperature in the state at 42.5°C, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that other areas in South Bengal would also experience heatwaves in the next few days. (Also Read: IMD weather report: ‘Severe heatwave’ alert for West Bengal. Top updates)

Several places such as Dum Dum, Midnapore, Bankura, Salt Lake, Canning, Kalikunda, Burdwan, Asansol, Purulia, Jhargram, and Balurghat have witnessed daytime temperatures exceeding 40°C.

Due to the prevailing heatwave conditions, the West Bengal government was compelled to announce an early summer vacation for state-run schools starting from April 22.