News Desk :
Millions of people across South and Southeast Asia sweltered through unusually hot weather on Thursday, as the Thai government said heatstroke has already killed at least 30 people this year.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted the region this week, prompting thousands of schools across the Philippines to suspend in-person classes, repor agencies.
Millions of people across South and Southeast Asia sweltered through unusually hot weather on Thursday, as the Thai government said heatstroke has already killed at least 30 people this year.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted the region this week, prompting thousands of schools across the Philippines to suspend in-person classes.
An Indian minister blamed hot weather after he fainted during an election campaign speech as the country’s weather bureau said severe heatwave conditions were expected in nine eastern and southern states in the coming days.
Even mountainous Nepal issued health warnings and put hospitals on alert on Thursday as temperatures soared in its southern plains. Scientific research has shown climate change is causing heatwaves to be longer, more frequent and more intense. The United Nations said this week Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023, with floods and storms the chief causes of casualties and economic losses.
City authorities in Bangkok gave an extreme heat warning as the heat index was expected to rise above 52°C.
Temperatures in the concrete sprawl of the Thai capital hit 40.1°C on Wednesday and similar levels were forecast for Thursday.
The heat index — a measure of what the temperature feels like taking into account humidity, wind speed and other factors — was at an “extremely dangerous” level in Bangkok, the city’s environment department warned.
Authorities in Udon Thani province, in the kingdom’s rural northeast, also warned of blazing temperatures on Thursday.
The health ministry said late Wednesday that 30 people had died from heatstroke between January 1 and April 17, compared with 37 in the whole of 2023.
Direk Khampaen, deputy director-general of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, told AFP that officials were urging elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions including obesity to stay indoors and drink water regularly.
The Philippines’ state weather service said the heat index in 38 cities and municipalities, including Manila, would be in the “danger” zone on Thursday — feeling like 42°C-51°C. “Heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely” in such conditions, the service said, and “heat stroke is probable with continued exposure,” the service said.
India’s Roads Minister Nitin Gadkari fainted during a speech on Wednesday as he campaigned for the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
