Searing winds continued sweeping India's northern plains on Monday as the country reeled under a brutal heat wave that has claimed over 550 lives in the past week with no signs of relenting in the next few days. Here's how India spent a scorching Monday.
A rickshaw-puller rests under the shade of an overhead bridge on a hot summer day in Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh recorded 76 deaths on Monday, even as the number of deaths due to heat stroke came down in Telangana. (AP Photo)
Onion vendors rest on a sidewalk under the shade of a tree on a hot summer day in Hyderabad. Temperatures, which were hovering over 47 degrees in the two states came down a bit, though Tuni in Andhra recorded a maximum temperature of 47.2 degress C on Monday. In Hyderabad, it was 41.5 degress C. (AP Photo)
An auto-rickshaw driver takes rest, in Hyderabad. Cities across Telangana bore a deserted look on Monday as the mercury crossed 45 degrees Celsius at Hanamkonda and Ramagundem with meteorologists attributing the sizzling temperature to dry winds blowing from a north-westerly direction. (AP Photo)
A boy jumps into the Ranbir water canal to cool on a hot summer day in Jammu. Authorities have advised people to stay indoors and consume plenty of fluids, and experts warned no let-up in the heat wave would lead to large-scale power outages in several parts of north India, bringing back memories of a horrific blackout in 2012 that affected nearly 600 million people. (AP Photo)
A pedestrian walks past parked taxis in Kolkata. The sweltering heat forced Kolkata's iconic yellow taxis off the road with drivers unions warning their members to stay indoors. "We are not forcing it on anyone. [But] we have requested all drivers and taxi owners to remain off the roads ... when the heat is extreme," Pramod Jha, secretary of West Bengal Taxi Workers Union, said. In neighbouring Odisha, residents in four districts got ready for at least one-hour of power cuts from Monday, amid a crippling shortage of electricity supply. (AFP Photo)
A man paddles himself in the water on the outskirts of Hyderabad. BR Meena, principal secretary of revenue for Telangana, said on Monday, "The kind of heat wave we are seeing now is slightly higher than normal. The temperatures here have almost touched 48-49 degrees Celsius." (AFP Photo)
A man sits under the hot sun next to his cattle on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Temperatures topped 47 degrees Celsius in coastal Andhra Pradesh with labourers, beggars and people living in the streets the worst-affected by theheat wave. (AFP Photo)
A woman carries a girl on a scooter in Hyderabad. Tulsi Rani, special commissioner of Andhra Pradesh's disaster management department, said, "The majority of the victims are people who have been exposed to the sun directly, usually aged 50 and above and from the working classes." (AFP Photo)
Children jump into a well to beat the heat in Karad, Maharashtra. Experts also say to an El Nino, a weather anomaly that leads to warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, is responsible for brutally hot weather across Asia and dragging down India's June-September monsoon. Researchers blame the scorching heat wave on climate change that has pushed up average temperatures across the country by about 1 Celsius, saying the heatwave would likely intensify in the future. (PTI Photo)
Tourists hold umbrellas as they visit the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur. Two people also died in Rajasthan with a woman collapsing on the side of the road on Monday afternoon. (PTI Photo)
People rest near a hoarding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The blistering sun didn’t spare the Capital too, which recorded its hottest day of the season so far at 45.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal. In Uttar Pradesh, temperatures hovered around the 45 degrees Celsius mark with Allahabad recording a high of 46.4 degrees. The met office predicted isolated dust storms and thunderstorms on Tuesday but said the heat wave would continue. (PTI Photo)
Children jump into a well to beat the heat in Karad, Maharashtra. Experts also say to an El Nino, a weather anomaly that leads to warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, is responsible for brutally hot weather across Asia and dragging down India's June-September monsoon. Researchers blame the scorching heat wave on climate change that has pushed up average temperatures across the country by about 1 Celsius, saying the heatwave would likely intensify in the future. (PTI Photo)
Tourists hold umbrellas as they visit the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur. Two people also died in Rajasthan with a woman collapsing on the side of the road on Monday afternoon. (PTI Photo)
People rest near a hoarding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The blistering sun didn’t spare the Capital too, which recorded its hottest day of the season so far at 45.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal. In Uttar Pradesh, temperatures hovered around the 45 degrees Celsius mark with Allahabad recording a high of 46.4 degrees. The met office predicted isolated dust storms and thunderstorms on Tuesday but said the heat wave would continue. (PTI Photo)
Read:Heat wave: 'Red box' warning issued for Odisha, Jharkhand coastal AP