IN PHOTOS | India's scorching summer

A captive elephant takes a bath at Neyyar Reservoir at the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Kottoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. (Photo | Vincent Pulickal, EPS) 

With water levels dipping fast as the weather turns hotter, elephants are unable to enjoy a full dip. (Photo | Vincent Pulickal, EPS)

Odisha government announced the closure of all schools and anganwadi centres till April 16 in view of the heat wave that swept across the state after mercury breached 40 degrees Celsius at many places. (Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

Though summer has just begun, the water level at Papanasam dam in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu has already plummeted from 143 to 19.85 feet. (Photo | V Karthiakalagu, EPS)

A couple gives a bottle of water to a thirsty monkey that approached them near Thiruparankundram Hill in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. (Photo | K K Sundar, EPS)

A child drinks water directly from a pipe at Pudupet in Chennai. (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS)

Temple authorities at Tirupati water the flooring to keep it cool in order to provide a comfortable darshan on a hot summer day. (Photo | Madhav K, EPS)

A trader gathering the muskmelons that arrived at a market in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. (Photo | K K Sundar, EPS)

People take a quick nap under trees in the lawns near Tank Bund during the afternoon as the temperature reached about 38 degrees Celsius in Hyderabad. (Photo | Vinay Madapu, EPS)

A local shop vendor checks a broken water pump for groundwater in Marina Beach, Chennai as temperatures soar in Tamil Nadu touching 40 degrees Celsius. (Photo | P Ravikumar, EPS)

Spotted deer quenching thirst at a water stream in Tirupati. (Photo | Madhav K, EPS)