Shocking photos reveal India in crisis amid the country's dramatic surge in COVID-19 infections

A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 is consoled by another during cremation in Jammu, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.Channi Anand/AP

• COVID-19 infections have been devastating the population of India.
• Earlier this week, the country broke a global record for the highest number of new daily cases.
• Shocking photos show the impact the pandemic has had on the nation.

India has been reporting the highest number of new daily coronavirus infections in the world, breaking the global record for the fifth day in a row earlier this week.

Relatives and municipal workers in protective suit bury the body of a person who died due to COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.      Anupam Nath/AP

india covid-19 crisis

Family members put flowers as they perform the last rites for a COVID-19 victim at a crematorium in Jammu, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.      Channi Anand/AP

india covid-19 crisis

Hindus arrive to immerse the ashes of their relative who died of COVID-19 at the confluence of rivers Ganges and Yamuna, sacred to them, in Prayagraj, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.      Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

India reported more than 17 million coronavirus cases, and the death toll in the country surpassed 195,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

A dead body waits to be cremated as multiple funeral pyres of those who died of COVID-19 burn at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation of coronavirus victims, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 21, 2021.      AP

Workers are overwhelmed with bodies of COVID-19 victims as cases continue to surge.

Exhausted workers, who bring dead bodies for cremation, sit on the rear step of an ambulance inside a crematorium, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

india covid-19 crisis

A woman is consoled by a relative at a crematorium during mass cremation of COVID-19 victims, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

india covid-19 crisis

A man transports a dead body on a handcart to a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation of COVID-19 victims, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

Wooden pyres are used to cremate bodies as part of a traditional funeral rite in India.

Flames rise from cremation pyres of 13 COVID-19 patients who died in a fire that broke out in Vijay Vallabh COVID-19 hospital, at Virar, near Mumbai, India, Friday, April 23, 2021.      Rajanish Kakade/AP

india covid-19 crisis

People perform rituals next to a funeral pyre for a family member who died of COVID-19 at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation of COVID-19 victims in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

india covid-19 crisis

A man sits on a log while waiting for the funeral of his relative who died of COVID-19, at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation of COVID-19 victims in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

india covid-19 crisis

Family members put the body of their relative, who died of COVID-19 on the funeral pyre at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

But as the death toll continues to rise in the country, authorities are getting requests to cut down trees in city parks for mass funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims.

Multiple funeral pyres of those who died of COVID-19 burn at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for the mass cremation of coronavirus victims, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

Cases in India began to creep back up in numbers in March, but "no one saw the extent of the surge," K. VijayRaghavan, principal scientific adviser for the Indian government, said, citing a CNN report.

People line up dead bodies of those who died of COVID-19 at a crematorium, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

"As the previous wave came down, there was in all of us a feeling that this was something which had been dealt with substantially," VijayRaghavan continued. "We saw signs of a next surge, but the scale and the intensity of it was not clear."

A man in protective suit digs earth to bury the body of a person who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.      Anupam Nath/AP

india covid-19 crisis

A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 reacts during cremation in Jammu, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.      Channi Anand/AP

india covid-19 crisis

Members of the family of a COVID-19 victim put a shroud over the body lying on a road outside a crematorium in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP

Families mourn the loss of their loved ones while donning medical gear and PPE as infection still runs rampant.

A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 breaks down during cremation in Jammu, India, Sunday, April 25, 2021.      Channi Anand/AP

india covid-19 crisis

Members of a family of COVID-19 victim prepare funeral pyre for deceased member as multiple funeral pyres of those who died of COVID-19 are seen at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.      Altaf Qadri/AP