New Delhi: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said he avoids air conditioning during peak summer heat, and advised the people to carry onions as an age-old fix to protect themselves from the heatwave.
“I don’t use air conditioning in my car, nor do I sit in an air-conditioned environment.When people ask me, how do you manage even in the 51-degree heat of May and June, I say, ‘This is Chambal skin’,” the Guna MP said Sunday at a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri.
Guna district in Madhya Pradesh is considered the gateway to the Chambal and Malwa regions.
“And shall I tell you one more thing? I may look a little young, but my soul is very old. Keep an onion in your pocket and nothing will happen to you. And in today’s modern times, when everyone is carrying boxes, the communication minister is carrying onions. These are old things. But just as Ayurveda is progressing, we shouldn’t forget these things too.”
आधुनिक युग में सब ‘डब्बे’ लेकर घूम रहे हैं और संचार मंत्री… pic.twitter.com/K41QYKlDeq
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) April 26, 2026
“Even if it’s 52 degrees in June, cover your head with a ‘patta’ (scarf), put an onion in your pocket and take the name of God (and carry on),” he added.
Heatwave conditions have intensified with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning that they are likely to persist over isolated to scattered pockets of northwest and central India during the next three days.
On Sunday, the IMD said that maximum temperatures remained in the range of 40-46 degrees Celsius over most parts of the country. The national capital has also been sizzling, with the IMD issuing a yellow alert. The maximum temperature was 42.1 degrees Celsius, which is 3.1 degrees above normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 26.2 degrees Celsius.
School timings have been altered in several states keeping the heatwave in mind. In Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, schools and anganwadi centres will remain closed from 27 April, following a heatwave warning issued by the IMD.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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