The unrelenting heat has claimed 24 more lives the eastern Indian state of Odisha, bringing the total number of heat-related deaths to 135 nationwide.

Temperatures have risen unusually in the first week of April, with several parts of the country recording deviations of more than 5 degrees Celcius.

Weather officials attribute the early onset of the heat to the after-effects of the weather phenomenon El Niño. But the Indian Meteorological Department predicted the country would receive good rainfall later this year.