The highest temperature ever recorded in India came this Thursday in the town of Phalodi, Rajasthan.
The town saw the mercury rise to a scorching 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on the second day in a row that the temperature surpassed the 50 degree mark, writes Huizhong Wu for CNN.
Searing temperatures strike India
Across Rajasthan various towns recorded sweltering temperatures. In Churu highs of around 50 degrees Celsius were also recorded on Thursday. In the Indian capital of New Delhi, temperatures reached almost 47 degrees on Wednesday.
Alwar, another town in Rajasthan, was the previous holder of the record with 50.6 degrees in 1956. The Guinness Book of World Records reveals that the highest temperature ever recorded was in Death Valley, California on July 10 1913, when the mercury reached 56.7 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit).
The state of Rajasthan is home to the Thar desert and generally records India’s highest temperatures. The extreme temperatures are usually due to westerly winds that bring hot air.
A red level alert has been issued for Rajasthan and other states including Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Temperatures in the latter two states have not passed the 50 degree mark, but they are higher than normal.
In fact temperatures for the whole country are higher than normal throughout 2016. Severe heat waves are affecting many areas and over 370 deaths have been reported thus far.