India: Life in a heatwave(s)

As we enter the month of May, heatwaves continue across the country, taking temperatures to all-time-highs. Heatwaves themselves aren't a new phenomenon, but due to climate change, they are now occurring more often, are more severe, and last longer. Here's how India—its people and animals—is dealing with record-high heat

Curated By: Harshita Sethia

Published: May 13, 2022

A vet provides medicine to an eagle at Jivdaya Charitable Trust, a non-governmental rehabilitation c

Image by : REUTERS/Amit Dave

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A vet provides medicine to an eagle at Jivdaya Charitable Trust, a non-governmental rehabilitation centre for birds and animals, after it was dehydrated due to heat during hot weather in Ahmedabad, India, May 11, 2022.

A watermelon seller drinks a cold drink as he waits for customers on a hot summer afternoon in Allah

Image by : Sanjay KANOJIA / AFP

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A watermelon seller drinks a cold drink as he waits for customers on a hot summer afternoon in Allahabad on May 9, 2022.

An elephant takes a shower inside its enclosure on a hot summer day at Arignar Anna Zoological Park

Image by : Arun SANKAR / AFP

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An elephant takes a shower inside its enclosure on a hot summer day at Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai on May 8, 2022.

A woman walks by a dry pond on a hot day in Mauharia village in the Allahabad district, Uttar Prades

Image by : REUTERS/Ritesh Shukla

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A woman walks by a dry pond on a hot day in Mauharia village in the Allahabad district, Uttar Pradesh, India, May 4, 2022.

People and cattle take refuge under a bridge at the Yamuna River bed on a hot summer day in New Delh

Image by : Amarjeet Kumar Singh/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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People and cattle take refuge under a bridge at the Yamuna River bed on a hot summer day in New Delhi, on May 10, 2022. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of a fresh heatwave spell in the capital on Wednesday, with temperatures soaring to 44 degrees Celsius.

A student prepares herself to journey on her cycle by covering her face and head to protect herself

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A student prepares herself to journey on her cycle by covering her face and head to protect herself from the heat and Covid-19 on her way to school on a hot afternoon in Odisha's capital city Bhubaneswar on April 12, 2021.

Two men sleep on a roadside bed with a table fan amid a heatwave in Kolkata, India, on April 25, 202

Image by : Indranil Aditya/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Two men sleep on a roadside bed with a table fan amid a heatwave in Kolkata, India, on April 25, 2022. Maximum and minimum temperatures in Kolkata were 38 degree Celsius and 28 degree Celsius, respectively, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.

Labourers drink water from a public drinking water tap on a hot summer day in the old quarters of De

Image by : REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

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Labourers drink water from a public drinking water tap on a hot summer day in the old quarters of Delhi, on May 4, 2022.

People carry water containers near an abandoned stone quarry on a hot day in Badama village in Allah

Image by : REUTERS/Ritesh Shukla

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People carry water containers near an abandoned stone quarry on a hot day in Badama village in Allahbad District of Uttar Pradesh, on May 4, 2022.

A man breaks a block of ice to distribute it among the residents of a slum during hot weather in Ahm

Image by : REUTERS/Amit Dave

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A man breaks a block of ice to distribute it among the residents of a slum during hot weather in Ahmedabad, on April 28, 2022.

A potter makes earthen pots at Kumbharwada in Bhiwandi village as demand for these pots have increas

Image by : Praful Gangurde/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

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A potter makes earthen pots at Kumbharwada in Bhiwandi village as demand for these pots have increased due to the rise in temperature during the heat wave in Thane, on April 7, 2022, in Mumbai.