Scorching heatwave closes schools and playgrounds in India

Schools have closed early for the summer holidays across India, because it's too hot to study safely.

A heatwave is hitting the country and temperatures reached a whopping 48C in Uttar Pradesh, north India, last week.

In many cities, it has been between a sweltering 32C - 45C since April.

People living in India's capital Delhi have been advised to stay indoors, and the government has been updating its "heat action plan" to try and keep people safe.

Playgrounds containing metal are almost too hot to play in, BBC South Asia correspondent Azadeh Moshiri says.

Measuring the temperature of some playground equipment showed it was more than 50C.

"That's so hot, and if I touch it - that's really really hot," she says.

Some animals are also struggling to find shade in the relentless heat, she adds.

Before the schools closed, Delhi's education department issued guidelines to help schools deal with the extreme weather conditions.

All schools had to stop open-air classes and activities in April, and were advised to ring a bell every 45 to 60 minutes to remind students to drink water.

India's government has also set up designated cooling zones, which contain fans and water, in public spaces.

India's weather bureau has warned the "severe heatwave conditions" are likely to continue into June.

This level of heat is really dangerous and doctors have said the hopsitals are filling up with people suffering from dehydration and heatstroke.

Experts say spending too long exposed to extreme heat can overwhelm the body's ability to regulate temperature, increasing the risk of dehydration and heatstroke particularly among the elderly and small children.

Hospitals are being given extra supplies, including ice packs to help cool people down.