A heat wave sweeping India has claimed more than 2,300 lives in recent weeks, and more scorching days are coming. May is typically one of the country's hottest months, but the India Meteorological Department said that this stretch has been the most severe one recorded in a decade. Here's a look at the situation.

2,338

Number of people who have died in India of heat-related causes as of Monday's count, according to Press Trust of India. Most of the deaths occurred in the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Telangana state.

Deadly heat wave in India

5th

How India’s heat wave ranks in deadliness compared with all other heat waves on record, according to figures compiled by the International Disaster Database. The death toll is nearing that of India’s 1998 heat wave, which killed 2,541 people and is ranked fourth in fatalities. The deadliest heat wave occurred in Europe in 2003, claiming more than 71,000 lives.

A volunteer pours juice for passers-by in Amritsar, a city in northwestern India, on May 29.

(Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images)

A volunteer pours juice for passersby in Amritsar, a city in northwestern India. (Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images)

118

The high temperature reported in southern India. The nation's capital, New Delhi, to the north, has reported temperatures as high as 113 degrees. In addition to its toll on people, the heat has killed animals and melted street surfaces.

Road markings melt along with the asphalt due to high temperatures in New Delhi.

(HARISH TYAGI / EPA)

Stripes painted on a road in New Delhi warp as the asphalt melts. (Harish Tyagi / European Pressphoto Agency)

$1,600

What the Andhra Pradesh state government said it will pay to families of people who died from the heat. Poor people who work outdoors are among those hit hardest by the recent weather, according to the BBC.

Indian cycle rickshaw riders sleep during the heat of the day in New Delhi.

(CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP/Getty Images)

Cycle rickshaw drivers sleep during the heat of the day in New Delhi. (Chandan Khanna / AFP/Getty Images)

June 5

When the Indian Ocean monsoon is expected to reach mainland India, according to the Times of India -- a later date than initially projected. Temperatures have been easing in some areas as the monsoon approaches, but it will take weeks for the rains to travel north across the country.

A plant pushes up through cracked, parched land in the village of Gauribidanur amid a heat wave in India’s Karnataka state on May 26.

(Jagadeesh Nv / European Pressphoto Agency)

A plant pushes up through parched earth in India's southwestern Karnataka state. (Jagadeesh Nv / European Pressphoto Agency)

Times staff writer Shashank Bengali in Mumbai, India, contributed to this report.

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UPDATES

7:14 p.m. June 2: This post has been updated with current numbers.

The first version of this post was published at 5:54 p.m. May 28.