Record heat in India in decades has left farmers devastated.
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| Parts of India are experiencing temperatures of 40 to 47 degrees Celsius. Meteorologist Michael Guy told CNN that this year, the entire country has seen unprecedented temperature increases. 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 in India have written an open letter to the prime minister, expressing concern about the negative impact of the drought on rural areas. Here, a man stands guard at a reservoir in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, holding a gun to prevent water theft. |
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| Farmers and cattle walk along the dry 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 died in the state due to heat, compared to 2,500 nationwide. |
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| Dry, cracked fields are seen 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 help farmers who cannot afford air conditioning. According to Indian officials, 79% of reservoirs are dry, and rivers are running 75% below 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 point in Mumbai. More than 300 families have migrated from western India to the area because of the extreme heat. |
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| The water shortage has forced people to drink 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 eastern Hyderabad. |
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| A man walks in a dried-up lake bed in Gunda Dam village, western India. The Indian government says 330 million people are affected by the heat wave. |
According to VNE
