Not normal’ On one April day, all of the planet’s top 50 hottest cities were in a single country

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

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3 min read‘Not normal’: On one April day, all of the planet’s top 50 hottest cities were in a single countryByLaura PaddisonUpdated 9 hr agoNoida, a city on the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 27, 2026. Temperatures in parts of the state have pushed well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.Noida, a city on the state of Uttar Pradesh, ...

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.

Men sit in front of an air cooler on a battery rickshaw on a hot summer day in the old quarters of Delhi on April 23, 2026.Men sit in front of an air cooler on a battery rickshaw on a hot summer day in the old quarters of Delhi on April 23, 2026. Bhawika Chhabra/ReutersTop 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 country’s “interior heat belt,” according to AQI.

The extreme heat wave India experienced in the second half of last month “stands among the top if not the top harshest for April, which is usually not the hottest month of the year,” said Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian who tracks extreme temperatures. Dozens, if not hundreds of April heat records were broken, he said.

People lie in the shade in New Delhi, on April 26, 2026.People lie in the shade in New Delhi, on April 26, 2026. Ishant Chauhan/Hindustan Times/Getty ImagesOne day’s data does not necessarily point to a trend, but India has long been grappling with increasingly intense heat, fueled by the climate crisis.

Summers are getting hotter and starting earlier. Last year, blistering heat arrived in April for parts of India, where temperatures spiked above 100 degrees, up to 5 degrees above the seasonal average.

Experts have warned heat in India is becoming so extreme, it may “cross the survivability limit” for healthy humans by 2050.

Heat is the deadliest type of extreme weather, and the vulnerable are most affected, including the very young and very old, as well as outdoor workers, who get little respite from the beating sun. Extreme heat threatens farming and food production and puts huge pressure on India’s economy and health care system.

This year’s heat wave came as the country also grapples with fallout from the Iran war, which has cut oil supplies, leaving it short on fuel at a time when cooling needs are soaring.

Women protect themselves from the sun in Noida, India, on April 26, 2026.Women protect themselves from the sun in Noida, India, on April 26, 2026. Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times/Getty ImagesSome fear a potentially blistering summer lies ahead. The Indian Meteorological Department has warned parts of the country are on course for above average summer temperatures.

The predicted imminent arrival of El Niño, the weather pattern which originates in the Pacific Ocean, may also spell trouble for India’s upcoming monsoon season.

⛅ Get CNN Weather in your inboxThe forecast is just the beginning. We’ll send you expert coverage and the stories behind the weather — so you always know more than just the number. Sign up for the newsletterThe Indian Meteorological Department has forecast below average monsoon rains in 2026, stoking fears for the country’s farming industry, as well as for reservoirs and aquifers that provide drinking water. Previous El Niños have seen lower rainfall and more severe droughts in the country.

There is a high risk of more extreme heat affecting several states in central and eastern India later this month, with the heat index — which measures how hot it truly feels by combining temperature, humidity and other factors — potentially soaring to 122 and even 140 degrees, Herrera said. These are “dangerous levels,” he added.

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