A suburb of India's capital Delhi has recorded a temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius, setting a new national heat record, the country's weather agency said. Red heat alerts have been issued and authorities are warning that the metropolitan area of more than 30 million people is at risk of water shortages, AFP news agency reports.
The weather agency IMD warns that the heat can negatively affect health, especially for infants, the chronically ill and the elderly.
It is not unusual for summers to be very hot in India. However, climate change means that heat waves are expected to become more intense and frequent.
The previous Indian heat record was recorded in a desert area in Rajasthan where 51 degrees was measured in 2016.
The heat has also gripped neighboring Pakistan. In the southern province of Sindh, temperatures climbed above 52 degrees Celsius earlier this week, the highest temperature of the summer so far and close to a national record during the ongoing heat wave, Reuters news agency reports.
Source: Aftonbladet.se
