7 photos that show the stark reality of what's happening in India right now.

The coronavirus pandemic is causing mass devastation in India, a country with a population of 1.3 billion, as their under-funded hospitals have become overwhelmed by their record-breaking surge in infections. 

On Monday, the country recorded a new world record for daily COVID-19 infections for the fifth consecutive day at over 350,000.

Infected people have been left grasping for air as hospitals are suffering mass-oxygen shortages.

Below are seven photos that show the stark reality of the crisis unfolding in India right now.

1.

Across the country, mass cremations for victims of COVID-19 are now taking place. This photo was taken at a crematorium in New Delhi on April 26, 2021.

A view of a ground showing funeral pyres during a mass cremation of victims, who died due to the coronavirus disease, at a crematorium in New Delhi on April 26, 2021. Image: Getty. 

2.

Hospitals are suffering from a severe lack of oxygen, leaving some patients struggling to breathe to be treated with emergency oxygen tankers that have been sent via express trains. This photo was taken in Pradesh, India on April 24, 2021.

A Covid-19 patient gets oxygen on the spot provided by Sikh Organization. India put oxygen tankers on special express trains as major hospitals in Delhi NCR to save COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe. Image: Getty. 

3.

This photo is of a relative of a person who died of COVID-19, breaking down during cremation in Jammu, India, on Sunday, April 25, 2021. 

Delhi, the new global epicentre of the pandemic, has been cremating so many bodies of coronavirus victims that authorities are now being asked to start cutting down trees in city parks.

A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 breaks down during cremation in Jammu, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021. Image: AAP.

4. 

This is a photo of the bodies of patients who died of the coronavirus disease who have been wrapped up as they are kept on the ground waiting to be cremated at a crematorium on April 20, 2021, in New Delhi, India. 

Dead bodies wrapped in protective cover are kept on the ground waiting to be cremated at a crematorium on April 20, 2021, in New Delhi, India. Image: Getty.

5.

Hospitals have had to inform infected people that they "can't admit patients" because of a lack of oxygen to treat them, amidst the rising coronavirus cases in New Delhi, India on April 23, 2021.

A notice posted outside a makeshift isolation facility reads 'OXYGEN NOT AVAILABLE, CAN'T ADMIT PATIENTS', amidst the rising coronavirus cases in New Delhi, India on April 23, 2021. Image: Getty.

6.

This is a photo of a woman, infected with COVID-19, taking a rest on a footpath as she waits to be admitted to a COVID-19 hospital in Kolkata, India, on 21 April 2021. 

A lady rest on a footpath in front of a COVID-19 hospital in Kolkata, India, on 21 April 2021. Image: Getty.

7.

As infections surge, people have been seen lining up for hours as they wait their turn to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This photo was taken on April 19, 2021, in Mumbai, India.

People wait for their turn to get vaccinated against COVID-19, at BKC, on April 19, 2021 in Mumbai, India. Image: Getty. 

Read more: What you need to know about the catastrophic coronavirus wave overwhelming India's hospitals.

If you’re in Australia, and would like to help India, here are just a few of the places you can donate to: 

• Care India: This nonprofit organisation who has 70 years experience of providing relief to communities during disasters in India. They are currently working to provide PPE kits to existing care facilities in India and to set up temporary COVID hospitals. You can donate here. 
• Ketto: This is a fundraising platform based in Mumbai, where a campaign is being promoted to get immediate access to oxygen concentrators across India. You can donate here. 
• Youth Feed India and Helping Hands Charitable Trust: This fundraising platform is raising money to deliver rations to vulnerable residents of Mumbai. Their kits will feed a family of four for 15 days. Their aim is to ensure “no Mumbaikar goes to bed hungry”. You can donate here. 

Feature Image: Getty.