Normal life took a beating on Wednesday because of extremely hot and dry weather conditions, compelling the Met department to issue a heat wave warning for the second time this month.

Streets wore a deserted look, as people preferred to stay indoors to duck the scorching sun. Those ventured out huffed and puffed, as the mercury column touched 44.3°C.

Buying vegetables became an uphill task in some pockets of the city, as roadside vendors did not turn up because of the unbearable heat.

“I did not find many seasonal vegetables at the nearby market for the past two-three days. There were fewer vendors. One of the vegetable vendors told me that many of them were unwell after selling vegetables in the open,” said Mamta Devi, a homemaker from Patliputra.

Children are finding the heat too harsh to bear. Some of them are even suffering heat stroke.

“As the summer vacation has started, I try to keep my 12-year-old son confined to the house throughout the day. But it becomes really difficult to control him when he starts urging to play from 4pm. He suffered a heat stroke on Tuesday and started vomiting. He also had loose motion in the afternoon. I could see he was dehydrated and admitted him to a nearby hospital. The doctor gave him saline drips and discharged him late in the evening,” said Suresh Mishra, a resident of Ashiana Nagar.

The netas are also feeling the heat. In a marked departure from the practice, RJD chief Lalu Prasad did not interact with reporters at the airport on Wednesday after landing in Patna because of the heat. He asked mediapersons to come to his home.

When Lalu found the room designated for the media interaction hot at his 10 Circular Road residence, he thought of taking reporters to a city hotel. But many mediapersons opposed the idea.

All of a sudden, a staff member told Lalu that two air-conditioners (ACs) were recently installed in one of the rooms at his residence. The RJD chief immediately asked for chairs and tables in that room. Eventually, he talked to the reporters switching on the AC.

Lalu’s cool initiative was apt in the heat wave condition prevailing in the entire state, except the north-eastern parts, for the past three days.

Ashish Sen, the director (radar) of Patna Met department, told The Telegraph: “The reason for the prolonged extreme hot and dry weather conditions in the state capital is continuous flow of dry westerly winds for the past 45 days, barring May 17 and 18. Thunderclouds formed on those two days because of incursion of easterly winds. But they led to squalls only in central Bihar. There were no rains.”

Sen said: “We have issued a heat wave warning for the next 48 hours on Wednesday.”

Heat wave conditions prevail when the temperature is 40°C or above and the temperature reading is five degrees above normal for more than two days. The last heat wave warning was issued on May 14, when the maximum temperature stood at 42.5° C.

Sen said the maximum moisture content recorded in the atmosphere on Wednesday was 30 per cent. “The combination of very high maximum temperature and dry air to the height of 4-5km is leading to the discomfort factor as high as 65 per cent from 7.30am till 12midnight,” said Sen.

The only silver lining amid the scorching heat is the hint of timely arrival of monsoon. The weathermen claimed that the south-west monsoon would hit the state as scheduled between June 11 and 13.

“The south-west monsoon has hit Andaman and it is expected to reach Kerala by June 2. If it enters Kerela as scheduled, monsoon would hit Patna by June 11,” Sen said.