[1/4] Women rest under a tree on a hot summer day in Ballia District in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiBALLIA, India, June 21 (Reuters) - A Hindu priest in northern India says the number of bodies brought to a crematorium by the River Ganges has doubled in the past week as a heatwave ravages parts of the country. Yadav, confirmed a surge in admissions at the main district hospital and said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of deaths. Brijesh Yadav, 28, said he rushed his 85-year-old grandfather to the hospital on Tuesday after he complained of difficulty in breathing. India has an average of five to six heatwave events annually over its northern parts between March and June and sometimes until July, according to the World Health Organization.

---

Persons: Adnan Abidi BALLIA, Rajesh Pandey, Yadav, Brijesh Yadav, Yogi Adityanath, Saurabh Sharma, Shivam Patel, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, S.K, Indian Express, State, NDTV, World Health Organization, University of Cambridge, Thomson Locations: Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh, India, Ballia, Bihar