Phalodi, a city in Rajasthan, sizzled at 51°C on Wednesday, the highest-ever temperature recorded in the country. This comes at a time when several parts of north and northwest India are in the grip of a heat wave. “We can consider this the peak of the heat wave as seen from the temperature in Phalodi,” the director of the IMD Delhi’s National Weather Forecasting Centre, BP Yadav, told dna. While heavy rain and winds have led to a marginal drop in reduced temperatures, “In Rajasthan, hot westerly winds have not abated, and thus temperatures are have soared,” he added.
The Indian Meteorological Department has warned that the heat wave condition may worsen in the next couple of days. Director General of IMD Delhi Laxman Singh Rathore attributed the rising temperatures in north India to the increasing use of fossil fuels and the spike in carbon emissions, The Times of India reported.
The same day, the city of Churu in Rajasthan recorded the second-highest temperature of 50.2°C, followed by Bikaner and Barmer at 49.5°C, Sriganganagar at 49.1, Jaisalmer at 49.0°C and Jodhpur at 48.8°C.
Before temperature hit 51°C in Phalodi, another city in Rajasthan, Alwar, held the record for highest temperature, at 50.6°C in 1956.
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