The temperatures recorded beyond 50 degrees Celsius in Delhi's Mungeshpur was unreal!

The streets are empty, the leaves still. The shops are shut, the windows all shuttered. The people are nowhere to be found. The only beings outdoors are dogs and cattle – both are weary, curled up in corners, in the shade.

It’s 2pm in Mungheshpur on Wednesday. A little over an hour later, the temperature in this village on Delhi’s northwestern fringe hit 52.3°C. It was the hottest place in Delhi, also shattering India’s historical heat record.

“There is no way I can stand there for more than 15 minutes. Most farmers have also stopped planting the next crop, which is jowar, because it’s unlikely to survive in this heat,” said Ashok Kumar, a local farmer bathing his cattle.

“This is the third time in the day I am bathing my cows. It’s the only way they stay cool. The calves often start foaming from their mouths when they are out too long,” said the 55-year-old, as reported by HindustanTimes.

A few houses down the street, 74-year-old Om Prakash peeks out of his house, careful not to let too much of the sun onto his wrinkled face.

The usually sleepy village finds itself in the limelight every few years nowadays. In 2022, the village found its name plastered across national headlines when the maximum temperature in May touched 49.2°C – then a record for the Capital.

This year has eclipsed the torment of that year.

And in the inescapable, asphyxiating heat, a major chunk of the village has been starved of water. Most have had to rely on private water tankers that cost ₹2,000.

IMD in its evening bulletin said the maximum at Mungeshpur was 52.9°C, instead of 52.3°C, though it later backtracked on its own reading, suggesting it could be due to “error” or “local factors”.

Union earth sciences minister Kiren Rijiju said such a reading in Delhi was “very unlikely”.

Rana, for his part, said the station is checked fairly often.

For now, the village is silent. Only the faint hum of air-conditioners cuts through.