Monsoon brings relief after India's deadly heatwave kills more than 100 people

India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts the heatwave conditions in east India will ease from June 20 with the monsoon expected to arrive with the next 48 hours.

The monsoon has already arrived in parts of of southern and northeastern India with isolated heavy rainfall predicted across parts of the country.

The death toll from the heatwave has risen to 170 people, in two of India's most populous states over the last several days, according to Associated Press.

The deaths happened in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar with the heatwave impacting the most vulnerable, authorities reported that most people who died were aged over 60 with pre-existing health conditions.

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SK Yadav, a medical officer in Ballia, a city within the state of Uttar Pradesh, said in the past three days, some 300 patients were admitted to the district hospital for various ailments aggravated by heat.

The state's health minister, Brijesh Pathak, said that they have opened an investigation into the cause of death of "so many people" in Ballia.

RS Pathak, a resident of Ballia who lost his father on Saturday, said that he witnessed an increased flow of patients at the hospital's emergency ward while attending to his father.

"This has never happened in Ballia. I have never seen people dying because of the heat in such large numbers," he said.

"People fear venturing out. The roads and markets are largely deserted."

Central and eastern Uttar Pradesh, experienced a maximum temperature of 43C on Sunday, surpassing the normal range by five degrees while in Bihar. The state capital of Patna recorded a maximum temperature of 44.7C on Saturday.

The main summer months - April, May and June - are generally the hottest in most of India before monsoon rains bring in cooler temperatures.

-with Australian Associated Press