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Pakistanis seek relief from the intense heat in a water channel during the June 2017 heatwave. ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty ImagesInstead of the usual April showers, a city in southern Pakistan experienced extreme heat. On April 30, 2018, Nawkwa, Pakistan, saw temperatures reach a scorching 122.4°F (50.2°C), possibly setting a new global record for the hottest April temperature ever recorded.
Your backyard thermometer would probably be unable to register such an extreme temperature. The human body also struggles to cope with heat like this. Temperatures over 104°F (40°C) pose serious health risks, as sweat alone can't cool the body adequately, leading to dehydration and heatstroke.
"The greatest victims of heatstroke were the laborers [sic] and motorcyclists," reported one newspaper from Pakistan. Due to power shortages, air conditioning wasn't an option for most of Nawkwa's 1.1 million residents. Many collapsed and were immediately taken to medical facilities. Two young boys tragically drowned while trying to cool down in the Rohri Canal.
Weather expert Christopher C. Burt told the Washington Post that the 122.4°F/50.2°C high is likely the highest temperature ever "reliably recorded on Earth" for the month of April in modern history.
It's hard to say for certain. In April 2011, a scorching 123.8°F (51°C) was recorded in Santa Rosa, Mexico. However, other official temperatures from the same area and time were lower, causing some to question the validity of the extreme reading.
At the very least, Nawkwa set a new record for the hottest-ever April temperature in Pakistan. Currently, the city is enduring a brutal streak of high temperatures, with the thermometer not dipping below 113°F (45°C) during the first week of May. The ongoing heatwave is also affecting much of southern Asia. Officials in cities like Karachi, Pakistan, are particularly concerned about rising humidity. Unfortunately, intense heat spells are becoming routine in this region. In 2015, over 3,500 lives were lost in a similar heatwave. Experts predict that climate change will exacerbate the problem significantly. Southern Asia, home to one-fifth of the world's population, could face uninhabitable conditions if current trends persist.
Although various sources dispute the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, Guinness World Records officially recognizes 134°F (58°C) as the highest temperature ever measured. This record was set on July 10, 1913, in Death Valley, California.
