Temperatures have climbed as high as 50 degrees Celsius, some 10 degrees higher than normal. The worst hit Indian state has been Andhra Pradesh, in the south, where over 1,300 people have perished, and where brush fires have affected virtually every district, depriving many people of their homes and belongings.

Indian Red Cross district

Despite the cooling influence of the rains, officials in the state of Andhra Pradesh reported the deaths of another 11 people from heat-related ailments, bringing the toll in the state to 1,412 and the national toll to 1,524.

The officials said the latest deaths

While northern parts of the country were still sizzling, monsoon rains and pre-monsoon showers were cooling some of the worst-affected areas, especially southern Andhra Pradesh state where 1,401 have died of heat-induced ailments since mid-May, a weather official said.

The changing conditions also brought

In Brief

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The Situation

Several areas in the northern and southern

This report is based on information provided by the UNDP Office in India as well as media reports.

I. SITUATION

1. Severe heat waves have affected large parts of India for the past three weeks. The affected states are Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. However, according to news reports, the southwest monsoon arrived in India today, a few days behind schedule,

NALGONDA, India, June 4 (AFP) - Ramulamma hobbles out of her thatch hut to pay a final, tearful farewell to her rickshaw driver husband, yet another victim of the heat wave that has already killed 1,065 people in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The 45-year-old widow wants to join her husband's funeral procession in Nalgonda, a town about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Andhra Pradesh state capital Hyderabad, but every step is an ordeal.

Ramulamma has been fighting a losing