S’pore Might Be Hot But India is Having a Heatwave with Temperature of Almost 50°C

So you think Singapore’s hot. I completely understand.

But yesterday (1 June 2019), as you pray to the Rain God for a rain, India’s suffering an even worse fate: they’ve just experienced the hottest day of the year at 49.6°C on Friday, and this temperature is set to stay for the next two days.

Hot, Hotter, Hottest

Given Singapore’s four seasons of summer, it’s understandable that we think we live in the hottest place in the world.

Apparently not.

The record goes to El Azizia from Libya in September 2012, when the town of over 23k people experienced a whopping 56.7°C—in comparison, the hottest day in Singapore was in 1983 in Tengah at 37°C. There were rumours of a 41°C in April this year, but that hasn’t been verified.

So despite our high threshold for the heat, we’re not the ones who can walk into a sauna and think it’s freezing.

And if you’re going to India any time soon, you might need to think twice because the temperature there is, for the lack of a better word, crazy.

India Hit 49.6°C on Friday

Two days ago, much of India (so it’s not just one small part of the big country) baked at a whopping 47°C. In its capital, they’ve issued an alert and advised residents not to go out during the hottest day of the day.

Singapore might be hot but we’ve never been advised to stay indoors because of the sun.

The heatwave in India is so serious that water in lakes and rivers have started to dry up. This wouldn’t have been a problem for Singapore, but over in India, farmers need those water for animals and crops.

Not sure about you, but it reminds me of the PUB advertisement that turned all our eyes into running taps:

In addition, certain parts of the country require water from these rivers or lakes for their villages, so it’s not just a matter of inconvenience but livelihood as well.

Why So Hot?

According to experts from Gandhinagar city’s Indian Institute of Technology, 40% of the country is expected to face drought this year.

Usually, the annual Monsoon would reach India now, but for some reason, it’s expected to be a week later, and most likely would only arrive on 6 June 2019.

In other words, it’d still be hot for the next few days for the people in India.

So, are you still complaining about the heat over here in Singapore?