At least five people have died of heat stroke in Maharashtra as temperatures hovered above 40°C in the state over the past few days, NDTV reported. Districts in central and north Maharashtra have been the hottest, with Akola recording temperatures of over 44°C, and Wardha and Nagpur reaching 43°C.

Bhira village in Raigad district reportedly touched 46.5°C on Tuesday, but the meteorological department later said it suspects the reading was inaccurate and will investigate the actual temperature. The temperature mapping equipment belonged to the Met department, but those recording the temperature at Bhira are not its employees.

The IMD has warned that the heatwave is “very likely” to continue in western Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Marathwada, Vidarbha and parts of Rajasthan this week. While the IMD attributed this current spell of heat to the prevailing winds and clear sky conditions, Skymet Weather said it was because of a spike in dry northerly-northeasterly winds.

Heatwave-like conditions in parts of north and central Maharashtra and a few places in Vidarbha are expected till Saturday, the director of the Mumbai met department, VK Rajeev, told IANS. However, rain or thundershowers are also predicted in parts of coastal Konkan, Vidarbha and Marathwada during this period.

Temperatures in parts of northwest, west and central India also risen by 4°C to 6°C on Tuesday. Over the past two days, the mercury rose past 40°C in Vidarbha, western Rajasthan, Marathwada and Saurashtra. On the same day, temperatures were 5°C to 6°C above normal in Mumbai, Pune and Thane and Delhi hit 38°C.