This City Endured a 122.4-Degree Day. It's Likely a Record

A city in southern Pakistan was the absolute hottest destination in April—and by "hottest," we're talking temps, not trends. In fact, Nawabshah registered the highest reliably documented temperature in the month of April ever, anywhere on the planet, per the New York Times, which noted the city hit 122.4 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday. "The unbearable heat forced people to remain indoors throughout the day. Roads and markets wore a deserted look and business activities came to a halt," a Pakistani newspaper reported, via the Times of India.

The problem here is that there's no governing organization keeping tabs on monthly temperatures globally, so record temps in this category are often based on meteorologist consensus. There's another contender for the top spot: Santa Rosa, NM, once saw an April temperature of 123.8 degrees, but a weather expert cited by both the Times and Washington Post says that record was of "dubious reliability" because the temperature wasn't recorded at an official World Meteorological Organization weather station. A high-pressure "heat dome" over the Indian Ocean is to blame for the current heat wave in Pakistan. (More Pakistan stories.)