Police officers cover themselves with large, thin cloths to protect themselves from the heat

DLNews "Breaking Heat"

That's not heat; that's deadly torture!

The top priority is to stop and drink.

New Delhi has turned into a blazing inferno, with temperatures skyrocketing to a jaw-dropping 52.3 degrees Celsius. This isn't just heat—this is deadly torture! On Wednesday, the Mungeshpur district in the capital shattered all previous records, marking the hottest day since temperature measurements began over a century ago.

The water doesn't look clean, but it's a few degrees cooler than the air.

With the average May temperature in New Delhi usually hovering around 40 degrees Celsius, this unprecedented spike is wreaking havoc. At such extreme temperatures, human proteins, which comprise up to 30 percent of our bodies, begin to denature and clump together, starting at 45 degrees. This isn't just an inconvenience—it's a recipe for disaster, potentially leading to heat strokes and even death.

He sells ice cream. But it has to be done quickly.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a stark warning, though they noted that the 52.9-degree reading in Mungeshpur might be an anomaly. Regardless, the suffering is real and palpable across northern India, with water shortages and soaring electricity demands compounding the misery. People seek refuge from the relentless heat, cranking up air conditioners where possible, but many are left to endure the sweltering conditions.

52.3 degrees, and he sells uncooled fish. It would help if you had an exceptional stomach for that.

Even Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan hasn't been spared, reportedly suffering from heat stroke as the scorching temperatures grip the nation. The situation is dire, with reservoirs running dry and hydroelectric power generation plummeting. NDTV reports that water levels in dozens of reservoirs have dropped to a fraction of their capacity, exacerbating the crisis.

As the mercury rises and the pain intensifies, New Delhi and the rest of northern India grapple with a brutal, unforgiving reality. The IMD's investigation into the temperature anomaly offers little solace to the 1.4 billion inhabitants facing this relentless heatwave.

The highest recorded temperature on Earth remains 56.7 degrees, measured in Death Valley, USA, in 1913. But this historic heatwave is an unprecedented nightmare for those in New Delhi.