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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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In India's heat, Delhi labourers toil in 'red hot' conditions

Working on a highway project in one of India's hottest areas this summer, Banwari Singh handles iron bars that he says often turn "red hot". Temperatures hit 47.8 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) last Sunday, among the highest recorded in India this year, in Najafgarh, an area on the outskirts of New Delhi where Singh works. "This is among the hottest it has been in this area," Singh, in checked trousers, a half-sleeved shirt, a bright orange safety vest and a hard-top hat, said. "But we have no option. If we want to eat, we have to work whatever the conditions are," said the 40-year-old, resting near a pillar he is helping to build. The northwest of India is experiencing an unusually hot summer and the national weather office has forecast three times the usual number of heatwave days this May. Experts say climate change adds fuel to the heat. Delhi shut schools earlier this week as temperatures rose. Voters in India's national election face the prospect of queuing this weekend in the sweltering heat. Read also: India's northwest braces for more heatwaves amid elections Singh and other labourers, who earn around 500 rupees to 700 rupees ($6-$8.4) a day, say they dread the heat and some fall sick as a result of the hot conditions. Water is available for workers to douse themselves regularly to beat the heat and some buy cool drinks from a makeshift shop nearby. The deputy project manager, Vinay Sahani, said the company provides water for workers, and sometimes lemonade, and asks workers to rest after noon when temperatures peak. Work can resume after sundown, he said. Sumit Goswami, 21, who had to take time off this week after a heat-related illness, said he has worked in hot conditions before. "But this year it has become extreme," he said. "Still, we have to continue because we have to support the family."

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