PowerPoint Show by Andrew

Even the monkeys are desperately trying to cool down as India battles against the heat and scorching 50C temperatures leave more than 800 people dead.

Laborers, construction workers and the elderly hospitalized with heatstroke as temperatures in India top 50C.

Southern city of Hyderabad is the worst affected, while roads in New Delhi have begun melting in the sun.

Troop of macaque monkeys which live in Galtaji Temple, Jaipur, have been taking water from tourists to stay cool.

A troop of macaque monkeys which live inside the Galtaji Temple in Jaipur, northern India, have been accepting water from tourists as they try to cool down in the midst of a heat wave which has seen thermometers hit 50C.

The macaques have also been pictured taking a dip in the Hindu temple's holy pools in an attempt to stay cool in blistering temperatures.

The monkeys drink from one of the pools inside the Galtaji Temple.

Forecasters have warned that high temperatures will continue until Thursday at least, when a rain and dust storm has been predicted.

A macaque monkey cools off in the waters of the Galtaji Temple, Jaipur, which are used as a pilgrimage for hundreds of Hindus each year.

Across the rest of India 800 people have died, mainly from heatstroke, as medics have been recalled from holiday to help treat the sick (pictured, a man cools off under a tap in Amritsar, northern Indian).

In New Delhi (pictured) roads have begun melting in the savage heat, which is due to last until Thursday at least, forecasters say.

Doctors have also warned of a spike in the number of diarrhea cases as children bathe in dirty water (pictured, a boy jumps into a pond to cool off in New Delhi today).

Street vendors across India have said the weather has hurt business as people stay indoors (pictured, a worker cools off in New Delhi).

Rickshaw drivers have been particularly badly affected by the heatwave, as taxi drivers in Kolkata have refused to work between 10am and 4pm after two of their colleagues died from suspected heatstroke.

A man hides his face from the sun in the southern city of Hyderabad (left), which has been hit with temperatures of 50C, while a motorcyclist adopts similar tactics in the northern city of Amritsar (right).

Most of the deaths have occurred among labourers and construction workers who are badly affected by the heat.

Also badly affected are the young and very old, especially in poor districts where they are unable to cool their homes.

An estimated 551 deaths have occurred in Hyderabad (pictured), as southern India bears the brunt of the current high temperatures.

Following the deaths, officials now expect rolling blackouts as the country's power grid fails to keep with the demand from power-hungry air conditioning units (pictured, a woman hides from the sun in Hyderabad).

Two women try to keep cool along with a young boy as they walk through the streets of Hyderabad in southern India today.