Village Bhira in Raigadh district of Maharashtra recorded an unusually high 46.5 degrees Celsius as several parts of the country reeled under sweltering heat. Akola, also in Maharashtra, recorded 44.1 degrees Celsius, Barmer in Rajasthan recorded a high of 43.4 degrees Celsius while Narnaul in Haryana sizzled at 42 degrees Celsius, nine degrees above normal
Ludhiana in Punjab recorded seven degrees above normal 36.7 degrees
In Uttar Pradesh, the maximum temperature crossed 40 degrees Celsius in Varanasi, Allahabad, Hamirpur and Agra.
It was a hot day in Delhi with the mercury settling six notches above normal at 38.2 degrees Celsius. Temperature in Dehradun as well as Srinagar was recorded much above the normal for this part of the year
There were predictions of a "mild heatwave" in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh has been crossing the 40-degree Celsius mark regularly in the last few days
At Bhira in Raigadh, the temperature mapping centre recorded a high of 46.5 degrees Celsius for the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Wednesday, but India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said they would like to verify the findings.
"When the temperature (at Bhira) was reported to be 46.5 degrees Celsius, we realised that something was wrong as no other place nearby recorded so high a temperature," SG Kamble, divisional in-charge of the Regional Meteorological Department, Colaba in Mumbai, said.
"Bhira village is located in the Sahyadri mountains and is close to a dam. The mountains are covered with forest. The height of the mountains around Bhira would be minimum 2,000 feet. In such a situation, if the mapping centre shows 46.5 degrees, it should be doubted," he said
Those doing the temperature mapping at Bhira are not the employees of the IMD but trained by it, he said. A team of IMD officials will now verify the findings.
With Bhira doubtful, an IMD official said Akola was, according to them, the hottest place in the country on Wednesday. Wardha, Nagpur and Chandrapur recorded 43 degrees Celsius each.
Unlike Bhira, there were no doubts in Uttar Pradesh where heatwave like conditions prevailed over most parts with the mercury crossing 40 degrees Celsius in Varanasi, Allahabad, Hamirpur and Agra.
The Met office said Varanasi and Agra were the hottest places in the state recording 41.4 degrees C, followed by Hamirpur at 41.2 deg C.