Temperatures soared to 50.2 degrees C, or 122.4 degrees F, in Nawabshah in southern Pakistan on Monday, April 30.
One of the first people to draw attention to this record was French meteorologist Etienne Kapikian. He said it was the hottest April temperature ever recorded in Pakistan and that was a new record for the entire Asian continent as well.
Pakistan Meteorological Department also confirmed to a Pakistani news outlet, Geo News, that the temperature in Nawabshah on April 30 was indeed the highest ever recorded in Pakistan in the month.
This is the second straight month in which Nawabshah has set a new monthly temperature record for Pakistan, said Geo. In March, temperatures in Nawabshah touched a national record of 45.5 degrees C, said The Express Tribune of Pakistan.
"There was a 51 degree Celsius reading reported from Santa Rosa, Mexico, in April 2011, but this figure is considered of dubious reliability, so yes, the 50.2 degree Celsius reading is likely the hottest April temperature yet reliably observed on Earth in modern records," said weather historian Christopher Burt to web site Earther.com
The sizzling heat took a toll on the residents.
"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. The worst sufferers of heatstroke were labourers and motorcyclists," reported Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
Most scientists agree that rising temperatures signal global warming.
"Human-caused global warming will increase the danger as heat waves become hotter, longer, and more frequent," said a report earlier this month on US climate portal Climate.gov.