‘Not normal’: The planet’s top 50 hottest cities were all in one country | CNN

On one day in late April, something very unusual happened. Every single one of the planet’s top 50 hottest cities was in just one country: India. This is according to data compiled by AQI, the air quality monitoring platform. There is “no modern precedent,” AQI said on its website. “This is not a normal April. And it demands a serious, data-grounded reckoning.” AQI’s rankings are based on temperatures across 24 hours, including the daytime peak and the coolest point at night, as well as as other data including rainfall, wind and humidity. On April 27, average peak temperatures across all 50 Indian cities on the list hit 112.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Top of AQI’s list was the city of Banda in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a harsh, sub-tropical climate which often delivers brutal summers. Even before what are typically hottest summer months, the heat has ratcheted up. On April 27, temperatures in Banda reached 115.16 degrees, according to AQI, the highest temperature recorded anywhere on the planet that day. The coolest Banda got, in the early hours of that morning, was 94.5 degrees. The majority of India’s hottest cities were located in the countr