A heat wave in India that caused many schools to shut early for the summer has killed 34 people in the past few weeks, authorities said Monday.

Most of the deaths occurred in the states of Uttar Pradesh in the north and Orissa in the east.

The Associated Press reported that all of the victims so far have been homeless people, including two children.

The maximum temperature on Monday hit 44.4 C (112 F) in New Delhi, where children were told to begin their summer holidays a week early because of the heat.

During the heat wave it has soared as high as 47.6 C (about 118 F) in Sri Ganganagar in the western state of Rajasthan, near the border with Pakistan.

Chronic shortages of power have led the government to restrict the use of home air conditioners until after 9 p.m. Government offices are not allowed to use cooling systems past 6:30 p.m.

Still, many regions have experienced blackouts that cut the power entirely, leading to protests in Uttar Pradesh.

Some forecasters have predicted a cooling trend will set in this week.

A heat wave in 2002 killed at least 1,030 people in a single week, as desert winds blew across India.