Heat wave kills more than 1,100 people in India

Stifling heat has killed more than 1,100 people in India in less than one week.

The worst-hit area is the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, where authorities say 852 people have died in the heat wave. Another 266 have died in the neighboring state of Telangana.

                                

India recorded its highest maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius — 117 degrees Fahrenheit — at Angul in the state of Odisha on Monday, according to B.P. Yadav, director of the India Meteorological Department.

Hot, dry conditions are being made worse by winds blowing in from Pakistan’s Sindh province across the northern and central plains of India. “This extreme, dry heat is being blown into India by westerly winds,” Yadav said.

The high temperatures are expected to continue for another two days before any respite, the meteorological department warned Tuesday. However, the agency said that another hot spell would likely soon follow.

Among the worst-hit states are Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The capital of New Delhi, neighboring Haryana state, the largely desert state of Rajasthan and several central and eastern regions are also bearing the brunt of intense summer, Yadav said.