Andhra Pradesh, Telangana heat toll nears 2,200

HYDERABAD: Despite hopes that weekend thundershowers would help end a raging heat wave in southern India, the rain brought only limited relief as the death toll since mid-April approached 2,200.

Officials said on Sunday that the intense heat was likely to continue for another day in worst-hit Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.

Day time temperatures hovered between 45 and 47 degrees Celsius in parts of the two states over the weekend, 3 to 7 degrees Celsius above normal, said KY Reddy, a director of the Meteorological Center in the Telangana state capital of Hyderabad. Thundershowers brought relief to people in other areas.