India's killer heatwave is leaving the country reeling from the worst drought in decades and a rural population struggling to survive.
Relief is due with the arrival of the monsoon in mid-June, and because of the impending La Nina weather pattern, the forecast is for above-average rainfall.
However WaterAid India's Head of Policy, Nitya Jacob, says groundwater levels are so depleted that even if a good monsoon comes in June -- and meteorologists predict there will be one that ends the drought -- it won't be enough.
"Even if the monsoon is good, it cannot compensate," Jacob told CNN.
Central Water Commission data shows that India's major reservoirs are 79% empty, and 75% of India's basins are holding less water than the 10-year average.
CNN Meteorologist, Michael Guy, says this is usually the hottest time for the subcontinent, but this year has seen an unprecedented spike in temperatures.
"India is currently in their summer or pre-monsoon season, which lasts from April to late May, or early June," says Guy.
"This year we've seen temperatures range from the lower 40s to as high as 47˚C or 116˚Fahrenheit. For some, this is three to five degrees (Celsius) above normal."
And critically, the past two monsoon seasons have seen below average rainfall.
"This has had a huge impact on groundwater supplies," says Jacob.
Impact on the ground
The government estimates up to 330 million people could currently be affected by the dry climate conditions.
"We are seeing that people don't even have enough water for drinking," says Jacob.
In this photograph taken on April 28, a child points to initials on a water container as she and other villagers queue to collect potable water at a makeshift camp in Mumbai. Some 300 families who have migrated from the drought affected Marathwada region in the hinterlands of the western Indian state of Maharashtra are camped at a municipal ground in the city.
12 photos:
In this photograph taken on April 28, a child points to initials on a water container as she and other villagers queue to collect potable water at a makeshift camp in Mumbai. Some 300 families who have migrated from the drought affected Marathwada region in the hinterlands of the western Indian state of Maharashtra are camped at a municipal ground in the city.
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An Indian woman tries to filter polluted well water with her sari as a child drinks during a water crisis in the Shankargarh area, 45km away from Allahabad, on April 21.
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An Indian woman tries to filter polluted well water with her sari as a child drinks during a water crisis in the Shankargarh area, 45km away from Allahabad, on April 21.
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A cow stands in a dried up pond in Bangaye the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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A cow stands in a dried up pond in Bangaye the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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Indian Lambadi tribal villagers fill drinking water from a leaking pipe on a roadside at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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Indian Lambadi tribal villagers fill drinking water from a leaking pipe on a roadside at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.Hide Caption
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In this photograph taken on April 27, Indian farmer Gassiram Meharwal, 32, stands in his field in the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
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In this photograph taken on April 27, Indian farmer Gassiram Meharwal, 32, stands in his field in the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
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An Indian man holds an umbrella as he walks on the dry reservoir bed next to Gunda Dam by Gunda village in Botad district, some 150 km from Ahmedabad in India's western Gujarat state, on April 1.
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An Indian man holds an umbrella as he walks on the dry reservoir bed next to Gunda Dam by Gunda village in Botad district, some 150 km from Ahmedabad in India's western Gujarat state, on April 1.
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A gunman stands guard at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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A gunman stands guard at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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An Indian villager walks with his cattle in the dried up Mansaita River near Allahabad on May 4, 2016.
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An Indian villager walks with his cattle in the dried up Mansaita River near Allahabad on May 4, 2016.
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Gunmen stand alert at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27, 2016. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts.
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Gunmen stand alert at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27, 2016. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts.
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An Indian farmer tries to revive his unconscious cattle dying on an unploughed field during a water crisis in Gondiya village, 45km from Allahabad, on April 21.
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An Indian farmer tries to revive his unconscious cattle dying on an unploughed field during a water crisis in Gondiya village, 45km from Allahabad, on April 21.
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An Indian farmer poses in his dried up cotton field at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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An Indian farmer poses in his dried up cotton field at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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In this photograph taken on April 27, cattle graze in a partially dried-up pond in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts by farmers from neighboring states.
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In this photograph taken on April 27, cattle graze in a partially dried-up pond in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts by farmers from neighboring states.
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In this photograph taken on April 28, a child points to initials on a water container as she and other villagers queue to collect potable water at a makeshift camp in Mumbai. Some 300 families who have migrated from the drought affected Marathwada region in the hinterlands of the western Indian state of Maharashtra are camped at a municipal ground in the city.
12 photos:
In this photograph taken on April 28, a child points to initials on a water container as she and other villagers queue to collect potable water at a makeshift camp in Mumbai. Some 300 families who have migrated from the drought affected Marathwada region in the hinterlands of the western Indian state of Maharashtra are camped at a municipal ground in the city.
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An Indian woman tries to filter polluted well water with her sari as a child drinks during a water crisis in the Shankargarh area, 45km away from Allahabad, on April 21.
12 photos:
An Indian woman tries to filter polluted well water with her sari as a child drinks during a water crisis in the Shankargarh area, 45km away from Allahabad, on April 21.
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A cow stands in a dried up pond in Bangaye the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
12 photos:
A cow stands in a dried up pond in Bangaye the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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Indian Lambadi tribal villagers fill drinking water from a leaking pipe on a roadside at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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Indian Lambadi tribal villagers fill drinking water from a leaking pipe on a roadside at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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In this photograph taken on April 27, Indian farmer Gassiram Meharwal, 32, stands in his field in the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
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In this photograph taken on April 27, Indian farmer Gassiram Meharwal, 32, stands in his field in the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
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An Indian man holds an umbrella as he walks on the dry reservoir bed next to Gunda Dam by Gunda village in Botad district, some 150 km from Ahmedabad in India's western Gujarat state, on April 1.
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An Indian man holds an umbrella as he walks on the dry reservoir bed next to Gunda Dam by Gunda village in Botad district, some 150 km from Ahmedabad in India's western Gujarat state, on April 1.
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A gunman stands guard at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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A gunman stands guard at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27.
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An Indian villager walks with his cattle in the dried up Mansaita River near Allahabad on May 4, 2016.
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An Indian villager walks with his cattle in the dried up Mansaita River near Allahabad on May 4, 2016.
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Gunmen stand alert at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27, 2016. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts.
12 photos:
Gunmen stand alert at a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on April 27, 2016. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts.
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An Indian farmer tries to revive his unconscious cattle dying on an unploughed field during a water crisis in Gondiya village, 45km from Allahabad, on April 21.
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An Indian farmer tries to revive his unconscious cattle dying on an unploughed field during a water crisis in Gondiya village, 45km from Allahabad, on April 21.
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An Indian farmer poses in his dried up cotton field at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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An Indian farmer poses in his dried up cotton field at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda east of Hyderabad on April 25, in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
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In this photograph taken on April 27, cattle graze in a partially dried-up pond in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts by farmers from neighboring states.
12 photos:
In this photograph taken on April 27, cattle graze in a partially dried-up pond in Tikamgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Armed men have been securing the Barighat dam against water thefts by farmers from neighboring states.
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In an open letter to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, more than 150 of India's activists and academics expressed their concern about the drought's impact on the rural population.
"In areas where rains have failed, farmers who depend mainly on rainwater to irrigate their crops have no, or very low, crop yields," they wrote.
"Those who rely on irrigation are also affected, with groundwater sinking and streams and reservoirs drying up."
The combination of heat with humidity makes India a global hot spot for heat-related illnesses and fatalities -- so far the government estimates more than 370 people have died.
2015's heatwave led to around 2,500 deaths in India, making it among the top five deadliest years in recorded history.
"It was a wake-up call for us," said K. Dhananjaya Reddy, the director of disaster management in Andhra Pradesh, a state that saw more than 1,300 deaths in 2015.
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