Khajuraho, the tourist town in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district, turns into the state’s hottest city every summer. The summer of 2026 was no different.
Khajuraho recorded a temperature of 43.4 degrees Celsius on April 23. According to IMD data published in Dainik Jagran, the temperature rose to 46 degrees Celsius by April 27. This was the highest April temperature in the past ten years.
Conditions worsened further by May. Khajuraho recorded a temperature of 46.8 degrees Celsius on May 19. This was just 0.1 degrees short of the then record of 46.9 degrees Celsius set on April 29, 1993. The old record fell within days.
According to IANS, the temperature reached 47.4 degrees Celsius on May 20 and 21, surpassing the 1993 record of 46.9 degrees and becoming the season’s highest temperature.
Khajuraho stayed at the top of the state even during Nautapa, the harshest stretch of the Indian summer. According to media reports, the temperature reached 47.2 degrees Celsius on May 25.
This pattern repeated in previous years, too. According to Business Standard, Khajuraho recorded a temperature of 46 degrees Celsius on May 26, 2024. Sagar and Guna recorded 46.2 degrees Celsius on the same day. Khajuraho’s extreme heat is not a one-time event. It is a recurring pattern.
In June 2026, as per IMD Bhopal data published in DD News, Khajuraho’s temperature stayed above 43 degrees Celsius on June 11. Bhopal recorded 42.6 degrees Celsius, Ujjain 42.8 degrees Celsius, Indore 41.6 degrees Celsius, and Jabalpur 40.6 degrees Celsius on the same day.
The same gap between Khajuraho and Bhopal held on most days in May. The Free Press Journal reported Bhopal’s temperature was 44.2 degrees Celsius on May 20, while Khajuraho recorded 46.4 degrees Celsius. The gap between the two cities exceeded two degrees.
However, Nowgong, a smaller town in the same Chhatarpur district, ran hotter than Khajuraho on some days in May. According to Free Press Journal, Nowgong recorded a temperature of 47 degrees Celsius on May 20, while Khajuraho recorded 46.4 degrees Celsius that day.
Both geography and human intervention are responsible
Dr. R.N. Sisodia, head of the geography department at Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundelkhand University, said geography and location determine a place’s temperature.
Khajuraho lies near the Tropic of Cancer, and its rocks take longer to cool after heating up. This keeps the heat lingering for long periods. Dr. Sisodia also considers rising deforestation a major reason for the temperature rise.
Social activist Amit Bhatnagar added the role of development projects to this geographical factor. Citing projects like the Buxwaha and Panna-Singrauli rail line, he said large-scale tree felling was adding to the region’s heat.
The heat’s toll on daily life and business
Mukesh Kumar Mishra, who runs a grocery store in Khajuraho’s Sevagram area, said the temperature stays very high here every year. It has crossed 50 degrees Celsius on several occasions. This directly affects his business. He has to keep one shutter down, which stops customers from sitting inside.
Khajuraho resident Manish Singh said tourism drives the city’s economy. Extreme heat causes tourist numbers to drop suddenly. This hurts locals who depend on hotels, restaurants, and shops for their livelihood.
Khajuraho’s heat is no longer just a weather statistic. It has become a story of the interplay between geography, deforestation, and large projects, one that directly affects local people’s livelihoods.
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