Extreme Heatwave Causes Some Schools in Asian Countries to be Closed
- AP Photo/Manish Swarup
VIVA – An extreme heatwave hits several Asian countries, and India since yesterday. It also creates record-breaking temperatures in China.Â
Unusually hot temperatures have also been reported in south-east Asia in recent days, including in Luang Prabang, Laos, which recorded 42.7C this week, the highest reliable temperature in its history, according to Herrera. Vientiane also recorded 41.4C, the hottest day ever for the capital, on Saturday.Â
Meanwhile, in Thailand, a government monitoring station in Tak in the northwest of the country recorded 45.4C on Saturday, breaking the previous high of 44.6C reached in Mae Hong Son on 28 April 2016.Â
The record was not included in the government’s official summary statistics, however, which reported the temperature in Tak as 44.6C.
Then, in Bangladesh, a country at the forefront of the climate crisis, temperatures soared above 40C in the capital, Dhaka, on Saturday, the hottest day in 58 years, causing road surfaces to melt.Â
An official from the Ministry of Environment, forests, and climate change said that if the heat did not abate, they would declare a temperature emergency in certain areas.
Ilustrasi cuaca panas.
- U-Report
In recent years, India has become particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, and experts fear this year could be even worse. The April heatwave has battered some Indian states, with the meteorological department this week issuing an orange warning of a severe heatwave in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, all states with a high proportion of rural workers and laborers who are forced to work outside even as temperatures and humidity soar.
This excessive heat is linked to the northwest airflow, which also brings much drier conditions than usual.Â
Authorities have advised the public should be careful about their health by staying hydrated, wearing sweat-wicking clothing, and avoiding roadside food, which can easily explode in these conditions. They also closed schools and universities for a week in response to schoolchildren's complaints about headaches.