Spare a Cool Thought for India After Hottest Day Ever

A city in the Indian state of Rajasthan just broke the mercury and recorded the country's highest temperature ever, the Guardian reports. Per a director in the nation's meteorological department, Phalodi reached 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, breaking the previous record of 123.1 degrees set in 1956 in Alwar. And it doesn't look like the weekend will bring much relief, with the weather office noting there will be "severe heat wave" conditions in the north and west.

The BBC notes that while it's typical for India to experience increasing temps and full-on sun right before the start of monsoon season (around mid-June), it's not as common for the thermometer to creep past 122 degrees. "Even my mobile phone gave up and stopped working when I was trying to take pictures today," one Phalodi local says. "I was able to switch [it back] on after putting a wet cloth on it for about 20 [to] 25 minutes." Indian state governments estimate more than 370 people have died in 2016's heat so far, per CNN. The world record still lies with Death Valley, Calif., however, where the mercury hit 134 degrees in July 1913. (There were "melting roads" in New Delhi last year.)