India’s Meteorological Department has sounded a red alert for several states as the death toll from a severe heatwave climbed to 289 lives.

The department said heatwave conditions would continue for another three days in many parts of northern India, including the national capital New Delhi, and the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

• Flooding, mudslides in China kill 35
• Mass graves found in Malaysia

Temperatures in these regions ranged from 42C to 48C on Sunday.

At least 100 people have died and there was a water shortage in several districts across Andhra Pradesh, the state’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Naidu appealed to people not to venture out of their homes or workplaces during the hottest hours between 11am and 4pm.

In neighbouring Telangana state, the heat had claimed 130 lives in the past 10 days, disaster management commissioner Bhambal Ram Meena said.

A total of 35 heatwave-related deaths had been reported from the national capital and its outskirts while 23 were reported from the eastern state of Odisha and one from West Bengal, state-run Doordarshan television reported.