Temperatures in an Indian desert city hit 122F (50 degrees Celsius) for the second time in three days as a deadly heatwave maintained its grip on the country.
The thermometer hit 122.54F in Churu in Rajasthan state, sending residents scrambling for shade to escape the searing sun.
On Saturday it reached 123F (50.6 Celsius), close to the country’s record of 123.8F (51 Celsius) recorded in the Rajasthan city of Phalodi in May 2016.
Cities across northern India have been sweltering with temperatures above 116.6F (47 Celsius).
A lake that has run dry because of yet another hot summer day near Ajmer on Sunday
A farmer died in Sikar district of Rajasthan on Sunday after suffering heatstroke, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Other deaths have been reported.
The Indian Meteorological Department said severe heat wave was likely to continue in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states on Tuesday.
New Delhi and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state would also be affected by extreme weather, it said.
An Indian official points a thermometer out displaying the maximum temperature recorded at the India Meteorological department office in Churu in Rajastahn today
Indian buffaloes lie down in a lake running dry to cool themselves off on a hot summer day near Ajmer today
An Indian boy jumps in a water canal to cool himself off at Sorkhi village in the northern Indian state of Haryana today as temperatures reached extreme levels
Temperatures fell to about 104F (40 Celsius) in Delhi on Monday, but residents still complained of heat exhaustion.
‘It’s really hot right now but what can we do? We still need to keep our business going. We need to be able to feed ourselves, so we have to stay open,’ said market trader Laxmi Jagdish.
The annual monsoon – which normally brings much-needed rain to South Asia – is running a week behind schedule and is only expected to hit India’s southern tip on June 6.
An Indian truck driver takes a bath using a water tanker as he tries to cool himself on a hot summer afternoon in Allahabad on Friday
Indian children play in a pond as they take a bath to cool off in Siliguri on Sunday. Temperatures passed 50 degrees Celsius (122 F)
Private forecaster Skymet has warned there will be less rain than average this year.
The Indian peninsula has seen a drastic change in rainfall patterns over the past decade, marked by frequent droughts, floods and sudden storms.
According to weather monitoring website El Dorado, out of the 15 hottest places in the world in the past 24 hours, 11 were in India and four in neighbouring Pakistan.