In recent weeks, record-breaking heat has covered the Southeast Asian countries with temperatures in many parts of Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam regularly staying above 40 degrees Celsius for unusually long periods of time.
At the end of April, Thailand witnessed the hottest day on record with a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Even the actual perceived temperature was above 45,4 degrees Celsius – a heat that is considered extreme and life-threatening for anyone, including those who are used to the type of hot weather combined with high humidity – for 46 days in April and at least 20 days in the month when the heat and rain in Myanmar calmed down. devastated this country. The heat continued to hit Myanmar when on May 4, the town of Hkamti in the west of the country recorded a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, the highest in 5 years, and the northern town of Myitkyina also recorded a temperature of 12 degrees Celsius, the highest in 4 years.
Singaporeans also experienced the hottest day in 40 years when the temperature on May 13 reached 5 degrees Celsius, the highest since April 37. Laos recorded a record temperature of 4 degrees Celsius for 1983 consecutive days in May. Prolonged hot weather also occurred in Cambodia and Malaysia in April and May this year.
In Vietnam, according to data from climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, a record high temperature of 44,2 degrees Celsius was also recorded in early May. On June 5, Vietnam experienced the hottest June day ever with a temperature of 1 degrees Celsius.
People use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun while moving on the street in Bangkok, Thailand on April 20. Photo: AFP/VNA
Data from the European Union's (EU) climate change monitoring agency Copernicus also shows that between the beginning of April and the end of May, six countries in Southeast Asia recorded actual perceived temperatures of about 4 degrees Celsius per day - well above the threshold considered dangerous, especially for people with underlying medical conditions or those who have not yet adapted to extreme heat. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) also said that the April heat wave in Southeast Asia is a once in 5-year event that is "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change.
Scientists say global warming is making weather patterns more unpredictable. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that increasing Earth's temperature will increase many simultaneous risks. Particularly, the scorching heat in Southeast Asia in recent years has become more dangerous due to high humidity, making it difficult for the body to cool down, causing symptoms such as heatstroke, exhaustion, which can be life-threatening, especially for people with heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and pregnant women. In particular, the heat has a direct impact on outdoor workers and informal workers. According to a 2018 report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), more than 60% of workers in Southeast Asia work in the informal sector. Particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, this number is up to 80% Not only affecting people's health, heat waves such as fire also threaten the environment and precarious livelihoods of the most vulnerable when causing droughts, destroying crops, contributing to fires, forest fires, destroying infrastructure and roads. However, the exact number of deaths due to heat has not been announced.
The prolonged extreme heat has made the assurance of electricity supply in Southeast Asian countries facing challenges. Some countries have had to actively cut off electricity alternately or limit electricity supply for production to ensure power supply.
In Thailand, high temperatures cause increased demand for electricity, putting the power system at an alarming rate. Thailand's Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said that the extreme heat caused the country's electricity demand to rise to nearly 35.000 MW in just one day. This is a record electricity consumption in the hot season of this country and is up to 6% higher than the same period in 2022. Some localities in Thailand have experienced large-scale power grid problems when experiencing local overload. Thailand's Energy Regulatory Commission said it will take appropriate measures if Thailand's electricity demand exceeds the threshold of 35.000MW.
Meanwhile, the increasing demand for water has led to a chronic water shortage in Cambodia. Cambodia's Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned that the hot weather will continue to last and there will be less rain than in 2022, as the weather is being affected by the El Nino phenomenon. The ministry added that rainfall in Cambodia this year is expected to be "20 to 30% lower than the average for many years", which means drought will return.
In the face of life-threatening risks, Thai authorities have advised people to stay indoors, drink enough water, wear light-colored clothes and avoid eating certain foods that affect health in hot weather conditions. Singapore authorities have also loosened regulations on school uniforms to suit the hot weather in the country. In Malaysia, the government has introduced a number of measures to mitigate the effects of prolonged heat, including sowing clouds, deploying 101 wells to serve areas with difficult access to water, temporarily suspending outdoor activities at schools, and providing free drinking water.
Although countries have been quick to deploy immediate response measures, global warming, which is believed to be the cause of more frequent heat waves, is exacerbating adverse weather patterns if governments do not take drastic action to reverse the trend. Experts say that countries in Southeast Asia, one of the most vulnerable to climate change, need to be more proactive in finding ways to adapt and improve their forecasting ability so that they can act early to avoid maximum damage caused by this "silent threat" heat wave. Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Thailand's Chiang Mai University, said there was a need for "an international plan that can protect more vulnerable populations from increasing risks of climate change and proactive measures to prevent potential health-related problems" for people.
According to VNA/Newspapers
