A heat wave in south India's Andhra Pradesh state has killed 513 people in the past two weeks, an aid official said today.
With temperatures soaring as high as 47 Celsius,most of those who died were poor, homeless people such as rickshaw pullers, street hawkers and construction workers.
Relief officials said the death toll was likely to rise with no sign of pre-monsoon showers and the weather office forecasting two more days of scorching heat.
Government officials have advised people to stay indoors during the day. More than 1,000 people were killed in Andhra Pradesh in a heat wave last May.