India, May 22 -- 97 of the world's 100 hottest cities on Friday afternoon were in India, as a brutal heatwave tightened its grip across northern, central and eastern parts of the country, pushing temperatures well above 45 degrees Celsius by noon.

According to AQI.in, the global top-100 hottest cities list at 2:50 pm IST were overwhelmingly dominated by Indian cities, with Balangir in Odisha emerging as the hottest location at 48degC.

It was followed by Sasaram in Bihar at 48degC and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh at 47degC. Humidity levels in several cities hovered between 6 and 8 per cent, placing conditions in the "extreme hot" category.

The only exceptions in the top-100 list were three cities in Nepal - Dhangadhi, ranked 23rd, Nepalgun...