India records its hottest temperature ever amid heat wave

Indian boys swim at Hazrat Nizamuddin Baoli, a stepwell, on a hot day in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An intense heat wave continues to grip several parts of north India with most of the cities crossing the 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) mark. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) (The Associated Press)

An Indian school girl cools her head with a cold water bottle in Jammu, India, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Scorching summer temperatures, hovering well over 40 degrees Celsius, (104 Fahrenheit) are making life extremely tough for millions of people across north India. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (The Associated Press)

A man uses a cloth to protect himself from the sun during a hot summer day in Jammu, India, Friday, May 20, 2016. The prolonged heat wave this year has already killed hundreds and destroyed crops in more than 13 states, impacting hundreds of millions of Indians. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (The Associated Press)

A city in western India has set a new heat record for the country — a scorching 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 Fahrenheit).

The record set Thursday in the city of Phalodi, in the western state of Rajasthan, comes amid a heat wave in India.

India's meteorological department said the previous high was 50.6 Celsius (123 F), reached in 1956 in the city of Alwar, also in Rajasthan.

Authorities have issue a severe heat wave alert for the next two days in the western states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of the central Madhya Pradesh. That means the areas can expect temperatures as high as 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 Fahrenheit) or more.