'Agni Pariksha' for us: Resident of India's hottest district as temperature crosses 48°C

A man from Uttar Pradesh's Banda likened the severe heatwave in the area to "Agni Pariksha" as the temperature crossed 48°C. "I believe the reason for this temperature rise is trees being cut down and illegal mining," he said. Another resident said, "All the old huge trees that caused cooling due to their shadows have ceased to exist here."