15 people dead as heat wave hits Canada
Ottawa, July 5 : A total of 15 people died from complications related to the hot and humid weather which has been rampaging in Eastern and Central Canada since last weekend, according to CTV on Wednesday.
All the dead were reported in Montreal, Canada where the temperature hit 40 C degree Wednesday when factoring in the humidity, and the heat is expected to last until Friday, Xinhua reported.
The Montreal authorities have called on local people to take precautions to avoid heat-related illness.
Firefighters are going door-to-door to check on at-risk residents in Montreal and health officials have set up drop-in cooling centers in the city to offer respite from sizzling temperatures.
Southern Ontario has been hard hit as well. The humidex in Ottawa on Canada Day was 47 C, the highest recorded for the capital city.
The Montreal city government unveiled an "extreme heat" plan Tuesday that includes distributing water to groups working with the homeless. Mayor Valerie Plante urged people to check on vulnerable neighbors, including seniors.
Toronto's Medical Officer of Health extended the city's heat warning until further notice over the weekend. The city has extended its pool hours and opened its seven cooling centers, which provide air-conditioned spaces and cold drinks. Toronto is also providing transit tokens for people experiencing homelessness to get to cool places.
Temperatures in Toronto, Canada's largest city, have topped 30 degrees every day since last Friday.
The heat wave has hit the Atlantic provinces too. A heat warning is in effect for Halifax as Nova Scotia has been
experiencing temperatures of around 30 C degrees.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
