Indians have been warned to stay indoors after temperatures soared to a record 49.2C in Delhi.
The Indian Meteorological Department warned of a fresh heatwave in the capital with peak summer heat in parts of the country before the cool monsoon rains in June.
The extreme heat parching swathes of northern India has prompted officials to draw up measures to mitigate the impact.
All India Weather Warnings for next Five days. For more details visit.Heat wave warnings:
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 16, 2022
Heat wave conditions in isolated pockets very likely over northeast Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, south Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha and north Madhya Pradesh on 16th and pic.twitter.com/azazZGSuN4
The states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Bihar have experienced soaring temperatures in the past few days, India’s weather department said.
India suffered its hottest March in more than 100 years and parts of the country experienced their highest temperatures on record in April.
Many places, including New Delhi, have seen temperatures soar beyond 40C.
More than two dozen people have died of suspected heat strokes since late March, and power demand has hit multi-year highs.
A further four have died after their electric scooters caught fire, with record-breaking hot temperatures feared to be behind the deadly blazes.
A father and daughter died in the state of Tamil Nadu in March, while two men died in April in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
In each incident it was reported the scooters’ cell batteries were set alight while charging at the victims’ homes.
Most e-scooters in India use lithiumion batteries which can degrade and catch fire when charged regularly in temperatures exceeding 30C (86F).
