It's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in much of the Midwest, South and East, and the culprit is hot air trapped under an atmospheric pressure lid that heats it up even further.
Power companies are rushing to keep pace with the changing energy landscape. This transition is especially contentious in the desert Southwest, where energy needs are enormous during the summer.
Temperatures in Phoenix are forecast to go as high as 120 degrees. A massive high-pressure system has prompted excessive-heat warnings for parts of five states in the Southwest and the Plains.
Most of the deaths have occurred in southern Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. But high temperatures persist across much of the country of 1 billion people.