India: The heat wave lead beer sales in New Delhi to a record high level this month

Beer sales in New Delhi hit a record high with nearly 6 million bottles being sold in the first three weeks of this month as temperatures hit 107.6 Fahrenheit (42 Celsius).

At least 375 people have died from sunstroke and dehydration in a month-long heat wave sweeping India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as South Asia endures one of its hottest summers on record, authorities said.

Temperatures hit 122 Fahrenheit (50 Celsius) in some parts of South Asia this week, parching fields, emptying dams and drying river beds ahead of the annual monsoon, according to Reuters.

Freak weather extended as far as northern China, where the heat set off explosives at a chemical plant in Shanxi province that injured hundreds. In central Chongqing city, authorities opened old bomb shelters so people can cool off.

26 June, 2005