Record heat in India in decades has left farmers devastated.
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| Some parts of India are experiencing temperatures of 40-47 degrees Celsius. Meteorologist Michael Guy told CNN that this year, the whole of India has seen an unprecedented rise in temperatures. In this photo, farmers in Gondiya village, Uttar Pradesh state, on April 21 try to treat a cow that fainted in the field due to heat and thirst. It is so hot that Bihar state has imposed a cooking ban from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to prevent forest fires. |
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| Indian officials say groundwater levels are running low. Indians will have to wait until at least mid-June for rains to arrive. More than 150 environmental activists have written an open letter to the prime minister, expressing concern about the impact of the drought on rural areas. Pictured is a man holding a gun at a reservoir in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to prevent water theft. |
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| Farmers and cattle walk along the dried-out Mansaita River in Madhya Pradesh on May 4. The combination of high temperatures and low humidity has made India a global hotspot for heat-related illnesses, with at least 370 people dying. In 2015, more than 1,300 people in the state died from heat-related illnesses, compared with 2,500 nationwide. |
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| Dry, cracked fields east of Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana. Photo taken on April 25. More than 10 of India's hottest cities are working together to find ways to help farmers who cannot afford air conditioning. According to Indian officials, 79% of reservoirs are dry, and water flows in rivers are 75% less than the average of the past 10 years. |
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| A girl points to a marking on a can as she collects water at a water supply point in Mumbai. More than 300 families have migrated from western India because of the extreme heat. |
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| The water shortage has forced people to use well water, despite the risk of digestive problems. The boy in the photo is drinking well water, which has been crudely filtered through a cloth. Nitya Jacob, head of India's water regulator, said the shortage of drinking water is mainly in rural areas. |
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| Lambadi tribesmen fetch water from a leaking pipeline on a road in the eastern city of Hyderabad. |
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| A man walks in a dried-up lake bed in the village of Gunda Dam, western India. The Indian government says 330 million people have been affected by the heatwave. |
According to VNE
