BANDA, India — The heat never lets up in Banda, not even after midnight. Power outages leave many families without even a basic ceiling fan, and residents are constantly searching for any form of cooling — whether that means being sprayed down with a garden hose or dragging a blanket outside to sleep under the open sky.
For the people who call this northern Indian town home, simply making it through each day has become a test of endurance. Banda has recorded some of the highest temperatures anywhere in the country, and the situation is getting worse.
Scientists attribute the worsening heat waves across India largely to global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels such as gas, oil, and coal. The state of Uttar Pradesh, where Banda is located, is considered especially vulnerable to extreme heat. In 2023, at least 119 people died over the course of several days during a severe heat wave that struck parts of the state.
This past May, Banda hit 48.2 degrees Celsius — that’s nearly 119 degrees Fahrenheit — one of several occasions this year when the town posted the single highest temperature recorded anywhere in India that day. According to climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, who monitors weather extremes around the globe, Banda was also the hottest place on Earth on seven separate days this year, most of them in April. Temperatures have eased somewhat since then, but the heat remains oppressive, especially as seasonal rains bring added humidity.
An Associated Press team traveled to Banda in June to document how residents manage the heat from dawn to dusk and beyond.
At 4 in the morning, when most of the town is still asleep, 70-year-old Munni Devi and her four sons are already hard at work. The temperature has already climbed to 30 degrees Celsius — 86 degrees Fahrenheit — and workers at Banda’s vegetable market are unloading tomatoes, jackfruits, and other produce, transferring goods to smaller vehicles bound for neighborhood shops.
Devi says the heat has grown more punishing with each passing year, and this year has been the worst yet. The work is physically grueling under any conditions, but during a heat wave, it becomes brutal. Still, she says missing a day of work simply isn’t an option.
