NEW DELHI, India — An Indian court has urged the government to declare a national emergency over the country's ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people had died during weeks of extreme weather.

India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

The High Court in the western state of Rajasthan, which has suffered through some of the hottest weather in recent days, said authorities had failed to take appropriate steps to protect the public from the heat.

"Due to extreme weather conditions in the form of (the) heatwave, hundreds of people have lost their lives this month," the court said Thursday.

"We do not have a planet B which we can move onto... If we do not take strict action now, we will lose the chance of seeing out future generations flourish forever."

The court directed the state government to set up compensation funds for relatives of any person who dies as a result of heat ailments.

Ruling on the current heatwave and such events in the future, it also said India should begin declaring them "national calamities".

Children carry containers of water supplied by a municipal tanker in New Delhi on May 30, 2024, amid ongoing heatwave. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). AFP PHOTO Residents fill containers with water supplied by a municipal tanker in New Delhi on May 30, 2024, amid ongoing heatwave. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). AFP PHOTO A man fills a bucket with crushed ice to store fish during a hot summer day in New Delhi on May 30, 2024, amid ongoing heatwave. Temperature readings in the capital New Delhi rose into the high 40s Celsius on May 29, with power usage in the city -- where the population is estimated at more than 30 million -- surging to a record high. AFP PHOTO