Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad) may have endured the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth in the month of April, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, quoting a French meteorologist and an expert on weather extremes.

A high of 50.2 degrees Celsius was recorded in Shaheed Benazirabad on April 30, with dozens suffering heat strokes and business activities coming to a halt in the city.

Read: How Sindh is struggling to respond to climate change challenges

Etienne Kapikian, a meteorologist at Meteo France, posted on Twitter that the temperature recorded in the city on Apr 30 was the highest ever for Pakistan as well as Asia. But Christopher Burt, a global expert on weather extremes, went a step ahead to claim it may have been the highest ever recorded in the world in the month.

"The competing hottest April temperature of 123.8 degrees (51.0 Celsius) set in Santa Rosa, Mexico, in April 2001, is 'of dubious reliability,'," Burt was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.

The newspaper said that the claim could not be confirmed as the World Meteorological Organisation does not keep track of monthly extremes, but Randy Cerveny of the agency said Burt was "pretty thorough about those things."

According to the newspaper, it is not the first time in recent months that Nawabshah has broken a record as just last month it set a monthly record for the highest temperature in Pakistan during a heatwave which saw high temperatures being reported across the country.

"April’s heat wave, coming just 30 days later, resulted from a sprawling heat dome centred over the northern Indian Ocean."

Last year, Pakistan was ranked among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change. A heatwave in Karachi in 2015 had left over 1,200 dead in the city, with over 40,000 suffering from heat strokes.

Opinion

Editorial

Weathering the storm
Updated 29 Apr, 2024

Weathering the storm

Let 2024 be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.
Afghan repatriation
29 Apr, 2024

Afghan repatriation

COMPARED to the roughshod manner in which the caretaker set-up dealt with the issue, the elected government seems a...
Trying harder
29 Apr, 2024

Trying harder

IT is a relief that Pakistan managed to salvage some pride. Pakistan had taken the lead, then fell behind before...
Return to the helm
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Return to the helm

With Nawaz Sharif as PML-N president, will we see more grievances being aired?
Unvaxxed & vulnerable
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Unvaxxed & vulnerable

Even deadly mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria have vaccines, but they are virtually unheard of in Pakistan.
Gaza’s hell
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Gaza’s hell

Perhaps Western ‘statesmen’ may moderate their policies if a significant percentage of voters punish them at the ballot box.