Some parts of India experienced a little relief as thunderstorms poured over the weekend, but it was not enough to cool down the relentless heat wave that has swept over the country since mid-April.
In certain areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the two worst hit states, temperatures climbed to 45 and 47 degrees Celsius. These are 3 to 7 degrees Celsius higher than the normal, according to K.Y. Reddy, director of the Meteorological Center in Hyderabad, The Washington Post reported.
The situation has worsened due to frequent power outages and water shortages experienced in a number of villages over the last few days.
The death toll in Andhra Pradesh has climbed to 1,636 and 561 in Telangana, making the total heat-related deaths reach almost 2,200 in the two states alone.
There have also been heat-related deaths noted in other parts of India: 22 in northern Uttar Pradesh, 21 in eastern Orissa, two in New Delhi, and seven in western Gujarat.
India is known to have really hot summers, but the heat wave this year is the deadliest that has hit the country in the last two decades, resulting in the highest number of deaths since 1995. Hospitals are doing their best to cope with the number of patients being brought in for heatstroke.
Meteorological experts warn that temperatures in southern, northern and western India may reach 45 degrees Celsius in the next few days, even as the annual monsoon is expected to arrive Monday, according to the Australian News Channel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people through a radio address on Sunday to take care of themselves as the India heat wave continues to blow over the land, the Australian News Channel reported.
