India, May 19 -- LUCKNOW Uttar Pradesh endured a relentless heatwave, with Banda recording a scorching 48.2 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to become the hottest city in the country for the third consecutive day. The maximum temperature in the district settled at 4.7 degrees above normal, following staggering highs of 47.6 degrees and 46.4 degrees over the previous two days.

The Lucknow Meteorological Centre issued a severe heatwave red alert for May 20 and 21. The warning covers 11 districts across the state, including Banda, Chitrakoot, Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, and Jhansi.

"Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are very likely at many places over the southern part of the state and a few place...