BIKANER, India (AP) — People in northern India have been struggling for weeks with a relentless heat wave, forcing schools to close in some areas and increasing the risk of heatstroke for outdoor workers.
The India Meteorological Department expects high temperatures to continue across the region for the next few days and has put several states on high alert.
Parts of Rajasthan state saw temperatures reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday. Temperatures also soared in neighboring Punjab and Haryana, with parts of the capital, New Delhi, topping 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.
A heat wave is declared in India when the temperature exceeds 45°C (113°F).
The scorching heat in northern India coincides with a six-week-old general election, posing heightened health risks as people wait in long queues to vote, which ends on Saturday.
The extreme temperatures are also taking a toll on the animals, who are at risk of dehydration and heatstroke.
Sitaram, an animal conservationist in Bikaner, Rajasthan, said the endangered chinkara, also known as the Indian gazelle, was facing water shortages at his conservation centre, which looks after sick and injured chinkara and provides them with shelter and water to beat the heat.
The months of April, May and June are consistently hot across much of India before the monsoon rains cool the temperature. But over the past decade, warmer weather has become more intense, often accompanied by severe water shortages, and extreme heat is fast becoming a public health crisis in India.
Tens of millions of India's 1.4 billion people do not have access to piped water.
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