00:52 Heat's Silent Killer Heat has a silent killer and Matt Sampson has the signs to look for.

Sweltering temperatures lasting for weeks led to more than 160 deaths in southern and eastern India, officials announced Tuesday.

Police reported 55 heat-related deaths in Orissa and at least 45 occurred in Andhra Pradesh, according to the Associated Press. Sixty-six deaths were reported in Telangana. Most of those killed by the heat wave were laborers and farmers. India's government told the country's supreme court that at least 330 million people have been impacted by the heat wave, and that number is likely to rise, BBC.com reported.

The stifling climate is typical of this time of year. April and May tend to be the hottest months of the year in India, right before the wet phase of the Asian monsoon, according to weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman. Dusty, hot winds in Delhi send temperatures soaring to about 113 degrees.

A man died of heat stroke Wednesday while attending an election meeting for chief minister Tamil Nadu and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalithaa in Salem, NDTV reported. The man was identified as 55-year-old S Pachiannan of Magudanchavadi.

A 12-year-old girl died Sunday from the heat in the drought-tricked western state of Maharashtra, according to a separate NDTV report. Yoga Desai had made about 5 trips from her home to the nearest water pump nearly a quarter-mile away before she died. She collapsed on her fifth journey.

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<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/gettyimages-522524910.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/gettyimages-522524910.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/gettyimages-522524910.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Indian railway hawkers carry bundles of water bottles on a trolly at Allahabad Railway station during a hot day in Allahabad, India, on April 19, 2016. (Ritesh Shukla/NurPhoto via Getty Image) (Ritesh Shukla/NurPhoto via Getty Image)

Schools in Orissa were shut down last week and are expected to be closed until at least April 26, the AP also reported. People throughout the country have been urged to stay indoors. Officials in Andhra Pradesh were passing out free water and buttermilk to help people stay hydrated.

Officials have also sent tankers of water to parched farming communities in Maharashtra and have banned people from drilling deep wells. Farmers have been ordered to move away from growing sugarcane, which require a lot of water. But a deep drought and severe water shortages are still taking their toll on the country's farmers.

"Thousands of distressed farmers have committed suicide, tens of thousands of farm animals have died, and crops have perished, with rivers, lakes and ponds drying up and groundwater tables sinking," said India Today.

So far, the heat wave was responsible for at least 111 deaths through Saturday in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Xinhua reported. A year ago, a heat wave killed some 2,300 people in those two states, Time.com said.

"At this point, there's little relief in sight. The heat may ease a few degrees Celsius early next week, but that will be short-lived," said Erdman.

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