Two automatic weather stations (AWS) in Nagpur, India recorded temperatures of 54 and 56 degrees Celsius on Thursday, but the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has clarified that the readings were due to a malfunction of sensors.
“The report of 56 degrees Celsius temperature on May 30 is not correct and not declared officially. The nearby functioning AWS is at CICR, Nagpur and the maximum temperature on May 30 was 44 degrees Celsius,” Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) Nagpur said in a statement.
The Nagpur AWS situated in the middle of the 24-hectare open agriculture land belonging to PDKV at Ramdaspeth, off North Ambazari Road, recorded 56 degrees on Thursday. The other AWS along the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) at Sonegaon too recorded 54 degrees.
This is not the first time that temperature records have been disputed. Earlier, a weather station in Delhi recorded a temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius. However, later IMD officials clarified that the record-breaking temperature was due to an "error in sensor or local factor".
The heatwave in North India has been severe, with twelve people dying of suspected heat stroke in Odisha's Sundargarh in the past 24 hours, as reported by IANS news agency. The water level of the country's 150 main reservoirs has also dropped to 23 per cent, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC).
Nagpur recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius on Friday, still higher than the average temperature for this time of year.
