India sets hottest temperature record amid deadly heat wave

Friday, May 20, 2016, 10:13 AM - India has hit an all-time hottest temperature record of 51C in the city of Phalodi.

The deadly heat wave has spread across much of northern India, where temperatures have topped 40C for several weeks. It has already killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of crops in over 13 states. 

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These life-threatening conditions have prompted government officials to issue a severe heat wave warning for western states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Parts of the country are also under a daytime cooking ban. 

The country declares a heat wave when the maximum temperature hits 45C, or five degrees over the seasonal average for the area.

India's previous record was set in 1956 at 50.6C. The United States holds the hottest temperature record with 56.7C set in 1913 in Death Valley.

Eyewitness Murari Lal Thanvi told the BBC he had a difficult time while outside Friday in Phalodi.

"Even my mobile phone gave up and stopped working when I was trying to take pictures today," he told the news agency. "I was able to switch my mobile phone on after putting a wet cloth on it for about 20-25 minutes."

The lead up to the Indian monsoon season, which starts in southern portions of the country in early June, is typically characterized by scorching heat before torrential rains and cool temperatures arrive.

Those living in the country are eager for wet conditions as the country has been under a drought due to weak rains. The dry spell across the western state of Maharashtra is the worst it has been in the past 40 years. Groundwater reservoirs are severely depleted and rivers, lakes and dams have dried up in many parts of the western states.

Meanwhile, parts of eastern India may be side-swiped by strong winds and heavy rain as parts of Bangladesh are under a tropical cyclone warning.

The storm is tracking northeastward across the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall south of Chittagong, Bangladesh Saturday. As of Friday morning, maximum sustained winds are at 93 km/h, gusting to 120 km/h.

"That is equal to a tropical storm in the Atlantic. A category 1 hurricane starts with winds at 119 km/h," says The Weather Network meteorologist Nadine Powell-Hinds.

Check back for updates as this story develops.

SOURCE: BBC

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