Bhubaneswar: More than 60 per cent of the world population experienced extreme heat, most probably due to climate change, in June this year, said scientists.

Scientists at Climate Central analyzed the role of climate change on global temperatures in between June 16 and June 24 and estimated the number of people being affected by them.

They found that at least 4.97 billion people across the Globe faced extreme heat over the period.

According to the scientists, as many as 619 million people experienced extreme heat in India over the period, followed by 579 million in China, 231 million in Indonesia, 206 million in Nigeria, 175 million in Brazil, 171 million in Bangladesh, 165 million in the US, 152 million in Europe, 123 million in Mexico, 121 million in Ethiopia and 103 people in Egypt.

India witnessed the worst-ever and long-running heatwaves this year. The maximum temperatures at several places across the country almost approached 50 Degree Celsius. As many as 40,000 people suffered from heatstroke while over 100 died in India.

As many as 1,300 people have died from heat-related illness during Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The US has suffered from two back-to-back heat episodes in the last few days.