India shuts schools as temperatures soar; Delhi now gripped by severe heatwave

Years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense. - PHOTO: AFP

NEW DELHI (AFP): Indian authorities in the capital have ordered schools shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures hit 47.4 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) with Delhi gripped by a "severe heatwave".

Delhi city officials asked schools to shut with "immediate effect" due to the blistering heat, according to a government order quoted by the Hindustan Times Tuesday, cutting short the term by a few days.