Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit (51 degrees Celsius) in Phalodi, India.

The week's coldest temperature was minus -105.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 76.1 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.

India sets new heat record

Temperatures have soared to a scorching 51 degrees Celsius in one Indian city, meteorologists said Friday, with the ferocious heat setting a new national record. Northern Phalodi wilted as the mercury reached a new high, equivalent to 123.8 Fahrenheit, beating a 60-year-old record.

The latest record high came as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued warnings of "severe heat wave" conditions across large parts of India's north and west, including the capital Delhi, where temperatures hit 47 degrees Celsius earlier this week.

Zoo animals in the capital were treated to cold baths and given electrolytes to prevent dehydration. Demand for electricity in the city of 25 million people surged to a record high on Thursday as sweltering residents turned on their air conditioners. Police officers on the beat were given oral rehydration solution and special "cooling scarves" containing water-absorbent crystals to keep their body temperature down, local papers reported.

The capital's hospitals have seen a spike in cases of heatstroke, while authorities in many states have ordered schools to break for summer earlier than normal due to the heatwave.