India saw a big jump in extreme weather events such as heatwaves and lightning strikes this year and related deaths rose to their highest in three years, government data showed on Wednesday, with scientists blaming climate change for the heavy toll.

There were nearly eight times as many heatwaves, 27 in all, and lightning strikes rose more than 111 times, killing 907 people, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said in a report to parliament.

Thunderstorms increased more than five times to 240.

Temperatures during India's monsoon season have risen this century and the country could see more frequent heatwaves in future, the government said in August.

The country of nearly 1.4 billion suffered its hottest March in more than a century and temperatures were unusually high in April and May, blamed mainly on climate change.

The World Health Organization says that from 1998-2017, more than 166,000 people died due to heatwaves globally.

India's western neighbour Pakistan faced devastating floods this year that covered a third of the country, killed more than 1,500 people and impacted millions.