Dozens killed by extreme heat as polls close in world's largest election
Extreme heat in India has killed at least 77 people over the past 10 days, including dozens of poll workers, as voting wrapped up in the world's largest general election.
India has endured a scorching summer — with a part of the capital of Delhi recording the country's highest-ever temperature of 49.9 degrees last week — as voters have hit the polls over a six-week election.
At least 33 poll workers died in a single day in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, the state's chief election officer said.
Another 24 people died across the capital territory of Delhi, the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand and the western Indian state of Rajasthan since May 24, local officials said.
With the peak of summer still weeks away, temperatures are expected to rise further.
People in northern India have been struggling with an unrelenting, weeks-long heat wave that has forced schools to close in some places and raised the risk of heat strokes for labourers working outdoors.
Some parts of India's capital New Dellhi reported up to 49.9 degrees on May 28, with the weather bureau saying the temperatures were nine degrees higher than expected.
The nearby states of Punjab and Haryana also saw temperatures soar, with one place in Rajasthan topping the 50 degrees mark.
India's weather department expects the high temperatures to persist across the region for the next few days and has put several states on high alert.
Tens of millions of India's 1.4 billion people lack running water.
Parts of north-west India have been sweltering under scorching temperatures, with the capital New Delhi under a severe weather alert as extreme heat strikes parts of the country.
The city's population of 33,807,000 have been warned by India's weather department that heatwave conditions are expected to persist for days.
Parts of New Delhi reported temperatures up to 47.1 degrees over recent days.
The nearby states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan also saw the mercury soar, said Soma Sen Roy, a scientist at the India Meteorological Department.
Health officials cautioned people against going outdoors under the afternoon sun, and advised them to drink lots of water and wear loose-fitting clothes. Those who are especially vulnerable such as the elderly should stay indoors, they said.
The extreme temperatures in northern India coincide with a six-week-long general election, with experts worried that the heat wave could increase health risks as people wait in long lines to cast their vote.
A mass fish die-off in a reservoir in southern Vietnam's Dong Nai province has shone a new light on soaring temperatures in South-East Asia.
Fishermen have been working to wade through and collect the hundreds of thousands of dead fish that have blanketed the 300-hectare Song May reservoir amid a ferocious heatwave.
Intense drought swept through Vietnam's south in April as temperatures soared to nearly 40 degrees, leaving farmers struggling to keep their crops alive.
Community members and local media are blaming the drought, heatwave and problems with the reservoir's management as contributing factors.
Recent photos show fish layered on top of one another, muddied, dry and disintegrated.
The water in the lake was reportedly too low for the animals to survive as there has been no rainfall for weeks, according to AFP.
Nghia, a resident from the province's Trang Bom district, told AFP that the fish "died for lack of water," adding: "Our life has been turned upside down over the past 10 days because of the smell".
Even with numerous buckets and nets, removing all the fish appears to be almost an insurmountable task.
Local media has suggested that as many as 200 tonnes' worth perished after a failed attempt to renovate the reservoir, according to AFP.
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