4-5-2024 (HANOI) Vietnam experienced a scorching April as temperatures soared, breaking over 100 records across the nation, according to official data. The relentless heatwave, gripping South and Southeast Asia, has left a trail of devastation, claiming lives, shuttering schools, and evoking desperate pleas for respite.
From India to the Philippines, Asia has been engulfed by an unrelenting wave of extreme heat in recent weeks, exacerbating heatstroke fatalities and prompting authorities to take drastic measures.
Experts have long cautioned that human-induced climate change would usher in more frequent, prolonged, and intense heatwaves. Now, their predictions seem starkly manifest as Vietnam grapples with the aftermath of three waves of high temperatures in April.
Data released by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting on Friday (May 3) revealed the mercury’s peak at a staggering 44 degrees Celsius in two towns earlier this week. This mark falls just shy of Vietnam’s highest-ever recorded temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius on May 7 last year.
The heatwave’s impact was felt across the nation, particularly in northern and central Vietnam, where temperatures soared 2 to 4 degrees Celsius higher than the same period last year. A total of 102 weather stations logged record highs in April, with seven stations recording temperatures exceeding 43 degrees Celsius, all on Tuesday.
In a grim testament to the extreme weather’s toll, the southern province of Dong Nai witnessed a mass die-off of hundreds of thousands of fish in a reservoir. Images depicted locals navigating through the 300-hectare Song May reservoir, shrouded by a blanket of deceased fish. Authorities attributed this ecological catastrophe to water shortages exacerbated by the heatwave and mismanagement.
The forecast for May offers little respite as the Vietnamese weather agency anticipates further hot weather, with temperatures expected to surpass previous years by 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius. While April and May typically mark the hottest period in Southeast Asia, experts attribute this year’s intense heat to the El Nino effect.
Beyond Vietnam’s borders, Bangladesh and Myanmar also witnessed record-breaking April temperatures. In Thailand, heatstroke claimed the lives of at least 30 individuals since the year’s onset, while high temperatures were implicated in a fatal explosion at a Cambodian ammunition dump.
Philippine Roman Catholic bishops have issued calls for prayers for rain and cooler temperatures, following government-mandated closures of tens of thousands of schools due to scorching heat.
Meanwhile, the Indian metropolis of Kolkata endured searing temperatures, reaching a peak of 43 degrees Celsius, marking the city’s hottest single April day since 1954. Even Nepal’s mountainous terrain has not been spared, with health warnings issued last week amidst unusually severe wildfires challenging firefighters.
