A troop of monkeys have drowned in a well while searching for water as India is gripped by a blistering, deadly heatwave.
An extreme heatwave has scoured great swathes of northern India since May, sending temperatures rocketing well over 45C and left hundreds dead.
Nearly 40 monkeys perished in the village well in the north eastern state of Jharkhand, a region that has been hit so hard by the heatwave, lakes have turned to dust.
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It’s believed the troop jumped in to the well, but could not escape. Forest officials are investigating the deaths and are waiting on post-mortem results, reports Digital Journal.
(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Indian government is under pressure to call a national emergency over the punishing heatwave, as hundreds of people have died during the bout of brutal weather.
Sky reports at least 200 people have died during the record breaking, including dozens of poll workers and voters who took to the streets to take part in India’s recent election.
(Image: RAJAT GUPTA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
At least 33 poll workers died in a single day in Uttar Pradesh, in the country’s north, reports CNN, while 20 people died of sunstroke between May 31 and June 2 in the eastern state of Odisha.
While no stranger to hot weather, India has endured more frequent and more extreme heatwaves as a result of climate change.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The country’s capital New Delhi reached a record breaking 52.9 C last Wednesday, May 29, as labourers, homeless people, street workers, the young and the old suffer, unable to escape the scorching heat.
As the city’s 32 million residents use more water and reserves evaporate in the heat, Delhi has been hit by water shortages with taps left dry in some areas and authorities trucking in water tankers and setting up public distribution points, CBSNews reports.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
And with summer just getting started, many fear the worse is yet to come.
A lemonade vendor working on the streets of New Delhi told news agency AFP: “The heat is so harsh here, that when the wind comes, it feels like someone is slapping your face.”
(Image: HARISH TYAGI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
“With the peak of summer still weeks away, temperatures are expected to rise further. “I don’t know what we will do.”
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