India's all-time record high set Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Rajasthan state.
India's all-time record high set Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Rajasthan state.
India has set an all-time record high for any calendar day as extreme heat continues to sear northwest parts of that country and adjacent portions of Pakistan.

The high temperature reached 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit (51 degrees Celsius) in Phalodi, India, Thursday. This topped India's previous all-time record high for any calendar day of 123.1 degrees Fahrenheit (50.6 degrees Celsius) set in Pachpadra on May 25, 1886, according to weather records from Maximiliano Herrera.


In neighboring Pakistan, temperatures have risen to "critical" levels this week, the Pakistani Meteorological Department reports.

The high temperatures topped out at 124.7 degrees Fahrenheit (51.5 degrees Celsius) Thursday in the city of Jacobabad.

"Prolonged power outages in these areas are making the situation worse, especially during the day," a Pakistani senior meteorologist, who asked not to be named, told The Express Tribune. "Excessive sweating can result in dehydration, leading to heat exhaustion."

Hyderabad, Pakistan's sixth-largest city with a population of nearly 1.4 million, has seen temperatures nearly reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit this week.

"May is typically the hottest month in Pakistan, with average highs around 108 in Hyderabad," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "The weeks prior to the onset of the wet phase of the Asian monsoon are almost always brutally hot in Pakistan."

According to world records curator Maximiliano Hererra, the all-time record high in Pakistan is 128.3 degrees Fahrenheit in Mohenjo-daro.