Watch | Rajasthan’s Phalodi sizzles at record-breaking 51°C

India recorded its highest temperature on Thursday when Rajasthan's Phalodi city touched a scorching 51°C. The meteorological department said the previous high was 50.6 C (123 F), reached in 1956 in the city of Alwar, also in Rajasthan. The main summer months - April, May and June - are always excruciatingly hot across most parts of India before monsoon rains bring cooler temperatures. The season is especially eagerly awaited this year because several parts of the country are reeling under a drought brought on by two years of weak rains.