The hottest April temperature ever witnessed on Earth may have been recorded in Pakistan after meteorologists saw the weather reach a scorching 50.2C (122.4F).

The 1.1 million people who live in the southern district of Nawabshah observed the blistering heat on Monday, with some meteorologists calling it a record.

On Twitter, Etienne Kapikian of Meteo France, said it was the hottest April temperature ever recorded in Pakistan and the entire continent of Asia.

🌡️🔥Exceptionnel 50.2°C à Nawabshah au #Pakistan ce lundi 30/04/2018, #RECORD national de chaleur pour un mois d'avril ! 🔥🌡️

(précédent : 50°C à Larkana le 19/04/2017)

*** aussi un nouveau record mensuel pour tout le continent asiatique ! *** pic.twitter.com/GTCOJuDT9Q — Etienne Kapikian (@EKMeteo) April 30, 2018

Weather expert Christopher Burt told the Washington Post it was probably also the highest April temperature "reliably observed on Earth in modern records".

He dismissed a previous record of 51C (123.8F) set in Santa Rosa, Mexico in April 2001 as having "dubious reliability".


The World Meteorological Organisation does not publish monthly reviews of extreme temperatures around the world but it did confirm Nawabshah had recorded its highest April temperature.

"In late April, the heat extended over a much larger area and peaked on 29 and 30 April when many records were set over large parts of Sindh Province," an article on its website read.

"The last day of April happened to be the hottest day on record when PMD (Pakistan Meteorological Department) site Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah) recorded its April ever recorded highest temperature of 50.2C."

It is the second month the region has set a new monthly temperature record after the heat soared to a national record of 45.5C (113.9F) in March.

Image: A man cools off near a leaking water pipe

The Dawn newspaper reported dozens had fainted after suffering heatstroke on Monday and described the weather as "unbearable".

Two teenagers had reportedly drowned as they tried to cool off in a canal while labourers and motorcyclists were among the worst affected by heatstroke.

Pakistan Today reported of power cuts which added to the misery for those trying to stay cool.

Guinness World Records credits the highest recorded temperature on the planet to Death Valley in the United States, which witnessed 56.7C (134.1F) in July 1913.

The Pakistan reading comes after the UK recorded its hottest day in April since 1949, with temperatures reaching 29.1C (84.4F) in the capital.

It presented a stark contrast to the average maximum temperature for April in Britain - a mere 11.4C (52.5F).