PHOTOS: Indians finding it too hot to handle

Over hundred dead, hundreds more being treated for sun strokes. Almost 30 crore people across India are facing the brunt of the summer heat and shortage of drinking water.

The mercury has soared past the forties in many parts of the country. Adding to the woes, the availability of water in 91 major reservoirs is lower by 11 million cubic meters at present.

While the Union government blames consecutive droughts in the last two years for the water woes and the meteorological department predicts hotter days ahead, the average Indian longs for some respite.

Here's how bad the situation is today:

Girls cover themselves during a hot summer day in Gurgaon on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI

Completely dried up river bed of Krishna river during hot summer in Sangli, Maharashtra. Photograph: PTI

People fetch water from a roadside pit due to acute shortage in supply during hot summer in Bhopal. Photograph: PTI

A farmer herds his cattle in a parched field on a hot summer day in Ranchi. Photograph: PTI

Tourists splash water on their faces to get relief from the heat at Mehtab Bagh behind Taj Mahal in Agra. Photograph: PTI

Cracked soil at Manjara Dam is seen in Osmanabad. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

A woman bathes at a roadside municipal tap in a slum area on a hot summer day on the outskirts of Kolkata. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters

Young girls cover their faces to protect from scorching heat on a hot day in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Photograph: PTI