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More than 430 people are reported to have died in a heatwave sweeping India, with temperatures reaching 48C (118F) in some areas, the BBC reports.

Most deaths have taken place in the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where more than 140 people have died since Saturday.

Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh recorded 48C while temperatures rose to above 44C (111F) in the capital, Delhi.

Authorities have urged people to stay indoors and drink plenty of fluids.

Heatwave conditions have been prevailing in the two worst-affected southern Indian states since mid-April, but most of the deaths have happened over the last week.

The worst-hit state has been Andhra Pradesh where 246 people have died from the high temperatures in the last week, most of them in the last few days.

"The majority of the victims are people who have been exposed to the sun directly, usually aged 50 and above and from the working classes," news agency AFP quoted P Tulsi Rani, special commissioner of Andhra Pradesh's disaster management department, as saying.