BANDA, India (AP) — The northern Indian town of Banda has endured weeks of extreme heat, with daytime temperatures repeatedly reaching 115 Fahrenheit and nighttime lows staying above 93 F. Banda has repeatedly ranked among India’s hottest cities, with temperatures peaking at 118 F. Climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera also said Banda was the hottest spot on Earth seven times this year, most of them in April. Brief spells of rain have brought only temporary relief. Residents, long accustomed to scorching summers, are now changing their daily routines to cope, beginning work at the vegetable market by 4 a.m. or shifting hours to avoid the afternoon heat.
A patient receiving oxygen lies on a hospital bed while suffering from a heat-related illness amid high temperatures during a heat wave in Banda, northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Friday, June 19, 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated PressChildren gather around a mobile phone as local residents rest at a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20, 2026 Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated PressResidents sleep on the platform of a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20 , 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated PressBird conservationist Shobharam Kashyap holds wooden birdhouses he makes for sparrows during a heat wave in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20, 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated PressLaborers sit beside sacks of potatoes at a vegetable market in the early morning during a heat wave in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20, 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated PressDr. Abhishek Pranayami examines a child suffering from a heat-related illness amid high temperatures as the child’s mother looks on at a government hospital during a heat wave Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Friday, June 19 , 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated Press
Banner image: A woman cools herself off with an ice pack during a heat wave in Banda, northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Sunday, June 21, 2026. Image by Rajesh Kumar Singh via Associated Press.
This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive […]
