AP PHOTOS: Weeks of sweltering heat scorch northern India

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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. Some parts of India’s capital reported up to 49.9 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, with the weather bureau saying the temperatures were 9 degrees higher than expected. (AP Video shot by Piyush Nagpal)

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People cover their heads with scarves as protection against the harsh sun on a hot summer day in Jammu, India, Tuesday, May.28, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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A Chinkara gazelle fawn rests in the plumage of a peacock at an animal rescue center on a hot summer day in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Dinesh Gupta)

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Commuters cover their faces with scarves to protect themselves from the harsh heat in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Dinesh Gupta)

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A man splashes water from a roadside tap on his face to cool off on a hot summer day in Lucknow, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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A woman carries a fan purchased from a market on a hot summer day in Guwahati, India, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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A man sleeps under a truck on a hot summer day in Guwahati, India, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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A man drinks water on a hot summer day in Jammu, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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Children cool themselves in a lake as the temperature rises in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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A man walks past the India Gate monument on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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Private security officers guarding a residential colony sit in front of a desert cooler on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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A man wears an umbrella hat on a hot summer day in Bikaner, in the Indian western state of Rajasthan, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Dinesh Gupta)

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A gas cylinder delivery person wipes his sweat as takes a breather in the shade of a tree on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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A parking attendant covers his face with a scarf to protect himself from the harsh sun on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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A cobbler rests by her work equipment on a hot summer day in Lucknow, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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A woman holds an umbrella and walks on a railway track with a child on a hot summer day in Guwahati, India, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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Rickshaw pullers sleep in the shade of an overhead metro line on a hot summer day in Lucknow, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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A Chinkara gazelle and peacocks rest in front of a desert cooler to beat the heat on a hot summer day in Bikaner, in the Indian western state of Rajasthan, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Dinesh Gupta)

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A man carries a water cooler for his home as temperatures rise in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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A man bathes his cattle in the River Tawi on a hot summer day in Jammu, India, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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Doctors hydrate a Chinkara gazelle at an animal rescue center with saline drip following an extreme heat wave gripping the city of Bikaner, western Rajasthan state, India, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Dinesh Gupta)

BIKANER, India (AP) — People in northern India have been struggling with an unrelenting, weekslong heat wave that has forced schools to close in some places and raised the risk of heatstrokes for laborers working outdoors.

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.

Some parts of India’s capital reported up to 49.9 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, with the weather bureau saying the temperatures were 9 degrees higher than expected. The nearby states of Punjab and Haryana also saw temperatures soar, with one place in Rajasthan topping the 50 C (122 F) mark.

India declares a heat wave whenever temperatures are above 45 C (113 F).

The extreme heat in northern India has coincided with a 6-week general election, increasing health risks as people wait in long lines to cast their vote. The voting ends on Saturday.

The sizzling temperatures are also taking a toll on animals, putting them at risk of dehydration and heatstroke.

Sitaram, an animal conservationist in the city of Bikaner in Rajasthan who goes by one name, said that endangered chinkaras — also known as Indian gazelle — are facing a shortage for water. His rescue center has been looking after the sick and injured chinkaras and providing them shelter and water to beat the heat.

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April, May and June are always hot in most parts of India before monsoon rains bring cooler temperatures. But extreme heat is fast becoming a public health crisis in India, with the warm weather getting more intense in the past decade and typically accompanied by severe water shortages.

Tens of millions of India’s 1.4 billion people lack running water.

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