By Esha Mitra and Joshua Berlinger | CNN
India's capital Delhi region on Tuesday experienced sweltering temperatures reaching a record 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 degrees Fahrenheit), as a scorching heatwave forced authorities to impose rationing some water.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the new record was measured in suburban Mungeshpur, surpassing Delhi's previous highest temperature of 49.2 degrees Celsius (120.5 degrees Fahrenheit), observed in May 2022.
Some areas of Delhi have difficulty accessing water, while others have no water at all, Atishi Marlena Singh, a senior minister in the Delhi government, told a news conference.
Areas that normally receive water supplies twice a day will now have their deliveries reduced to once a day in order to divert resources to areas that have little or no supply, Singh said.
The water shortage was caused by an “acute heatwave”, as well as a lack of water deliveries from the northern state of Haryana to Delhi, which were not being made as usual, Singh said.
Delhi is not alone as the mercury soars in northwest India. The temperature in the town of Churu in Rajasthan state soared to 50.5 degrees Celsius (122.9 degrees Fahrenheit). In Sirsa, a town in Haryana state, thermometers reached 50.3 degrees Celsius (122.5 degrees Fahrenheit), Indian authorities said.
Heatwave conditions will prevail in Delhi on Wednesday but are expected to ease from Thursday, the IMD said.
Extreme heat is becoming more common and intense across much of the world due to the climate crisis caused by human activities. India is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and some places are already beyond the limits of human survival, experts say.
A study has found that heatwaves have killed more than 24,000 people in the country since 1992. Increasing heat spells in the coming years could threaten India's development and risk reversing progress in poverty reduction, health and economic growth, according to the study.
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