A dangerous and record-smashing heat wave is lodged over Southeast Asia, closing schools, testing power grids, and causing a notable spike in heat-related illnesses and deaths.
For several days, temperatures have soared anywhere up to 100 to 120 degrees from India to the Philippines, while 90s have swelled northward into Japan.
“Thousands of records are being brutalized all over Asia, which is by far the most extreme event in world climatic history,” weather historian Maximiliano Herrera wrote on X.
Excessive heat spread over the region last week and is expected to persist into early May. In some areas, temperatures have been above normal since March.
Manila, the megalopolis metro area of over 14 million people in the Philippines, set an all-time high of 101.8 degrees Fahrenheit (38.8 Celsius) Saturday. It also witnessed its hottest night on record last Wednesday with a low of 85.6 degrees (29.8 C).
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Here are some of the temperature extremes and the impacts observed in the region:
Share this articleShare- Bangladesh: It was so hot that primary schools were closed Monday and last week as temperatures reached 109.4 degrees (43 C). On Tuesday, they climbed as high as 110.8 degrees (43.8 C). Reuters reported that closures will remain widespread through at least Thursday. “I have never experienced such heat in my life,” said Shaheb Ali, a rickshaw driver in Dhaka, according to the news agency.
- China: A location in Yunnan, a province in southwestern China, posted the country’s highest April temperature, reaching 110.1 degrees (43.4 C). A location in Hainan province hit 109 degrees (42.8 C) Tuesday, an all-time high for that province.
- India: Kolkata is in the midst of its longest April heat wave, according to the Times of India. The India Meteorological Department declared a code red for excessive heat for Kolkata and surrounding areas until May 2 as temperatures soared as high as 114.8 degrees (46 C), about 9 to 18 degrees (5 to 10 C) above average. Heat indexes, a measure of how hot it feels factoring in humidity, could reach as high as 122 to 140 degrees (50 to 60 C) in southern and eastern parts of the country. India, which already is prone to deadly heat, will probably be the most vulnerable nation in the world to high temperatures by 2030, according to an analysis of climate data by The Washington Post and the nonprofit modeling group CarbonPlan.
- Japan: Records have been set from the south to the north, including the second earliest instance of 86 degrees (30 C) in the history of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island and second largest, and the nation’s warmest low temperature on record during April.
- Laos: The national record for April was set Friday, when the temperature reached 109.8 degrees (43.2 C) in Tha Ngon.
- Myanmar: The mercury has risen as high as 114.8 degrees (46 C) while numerous locations have established all-time highs. As with coastal India and other particularly humid parts of Southeast Asia, heat indexes are near the limit of human survivability.
- Philippines: Manila set multiple major heat records. Sangley Point, on Manila Bay, also observed a low of 86.4 degrees (30.2 C), the hottest overnight minimum in the country’s history. With heat indexes surpassing 110 degrees, government officials are warning of strained power supply, according to Reuters, and schools have been closed multiple days.
- Thailand: The country is seeing “endless record heat,” Herrera wrote, noting a torrent of heat records since March. Temperatures were up to 111.2 degrees (44 C) on Sunday, and numerous cities have reached all-time record highs. The Health Ministry recently reported nearly as many people have died of heat stroke this year through mid-April as in all of 2023, according to the BBC, which was among the hottest years on record.
- Vietnam: The country registered its highest April temperature on record Tuesday, when Tuong Duong hit 111.2 degrees (44 C).
One of the drivers of this prolonged and intense heat spell is abnormally warm ocean waters. Temperatures in the northern Indian Ocean are the highest on record, Kim Wood, a professor of meteorology at the University of Arizona, posted to X.
This exceptional heat comes as the globe is likely to notch its 11th-straight hottest month and is projected to see its warmest or second-warmest year on record. The El Niño climate pattern that peaked over the winter has boosted temperatures on top of the sustained background warming from human-caused climate change.
Looking ahead, computer models project little relief. Some places may see heat briefly ease at times, but warmer-than-average weather should dominate. The heat may even expand heading into mid-May.
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
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