No tea or coffee, Indians warned, as heatwave continues

CHURU, India: Hospitals across the desert state of Rajasthan reported a surge in heatstroke cases on Tuesday as fierce temperatures kept up for a fourth day across northern India.

The government advised the public not to drink tea, coffee or alcohol during the heatwave.

In the Rajasthan city of Churu, which has twice in four days had maximum temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), coolers and earthen pots filled with water were left at bus stands and other public places.

A number of heat-related deaths have been reported in Rajasthan and neighbouring states caught in the heatwave.

At the Churu government hospital, 10 patients were admitted with heatstroke. Sanjay Kumar, a teacher who had been in the hospital, said: "I have been vomiting a lot."

"My whole body was burning and I couldn’t go anywhere because the temperatures were so high. It was so hot that it felt like we were carrying something that was burning."

Every hospital in Rajasthan is "treating a high number of heat cases", a state official told AFP.

Narendra Kumar, who has a dairy farm near Churu, said he was used to high temperatures hitting each year, but his cows were suffering.

"My animals feel it a lot. During the day when the temperature is at a peak, we bring all the cattle inside and switch on the cooler," Kumar said.