Villagers carry water pots in Shahapur district of India's Maharashtra state amid an ongoing heatwave. Photo Credit: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images
A one-of-its-kind insurance policy has started making payouts to tens of thousands of women across India to help them cope with the impact of extreme heat.
Fifty thousand women in 22 districts across the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat received a US$5 payment as temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) last month in several parts of the country.