[SUB]A woman crosses a dry riverbed near Ahmedabad[/SUB]
India is in the grips of a monstrous pre-monsoon heat wave that has killed more than 160 people in recent weeks.
The majority of the deaths have been in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but soaring temperatures have compounded ongoing drought and water shortages across the country and threaten to affect as many as 330 million people, according to figures the Indian government reported to the Supreme Court.
The hottest summer months in India tend to be May and June, so the current spell in April has officials concerned about a significant spike in heat-related deaths.
[SUP]Workers repair electrical wires along the banks of the Ganges river in Allahabad.[/SUP]
Last year, a heat wave claimed 2,422 lives in India, the highest heat-related death toll in more than two decades.
In neighboring Pakistan, which last year suffered its worst heat spell, authorities have moved to open 500 response centers that would provide shelter and cold water.