In recent weeks, extreme heat has enveloped Asia, from India to the Philippines, causing deaths from sunstroke and school closures.
More than 100 temperature records fell in Vietnam in April, according to official data from the local meteorological service. In the southern province of Dong Nai, hundreds of thousands of fish died in a reservoir as a result of the record heat.
Human-induced climate change will lead to more frequent, longer and more intense heatwaves, scientists regularly warn.
Vietnam experienced three severe heat waves in April, according to data released Friday by the National Hydrometeorological Forecasting Center, with the mercury reaching 44°C in two cities earlier this week. This figure is just below the highest temperature ever recorded in Vietnam, which was 44.2°C on May 7, 2023.
A total of 102 weather stations recorded records in April, with northern and central Vietnam most affected by the heatwave, with temperatures on average 2 to 4°C higher than the same period last year. last. Seven stations recorded temperatures exceeding 43°C on Tuesday.
The most dramatic sign of the extreme weather hitting Vietnam appeared in the southern province of Dong Nai, where hundreds of thousands of fish died in a reservoir.
Footage showed residents wading and boating in the 300-hectare Song May Reservoir, with the water barely visible beneath a patch of dead fish. This mass mortality was attributed to lack of water caused by the heatwave and poor management.
The Vietnamese meteorological agency predicts further heat waves in May, with temperatures 1.5 to 2.5°C higher than in previous years. While April and May are usually the hottest months of the year in Southeast Asia, experts say the El Niño phenomenon is making this year’s heat particularly intense.
Bangladesh and Burma also experienced record temperatures in April, heatstroke has killed at least 30 people in Thailand since the start of the year and high temperatures were partly responsible for a deadly explosion in a Cambodian ammunition depot.
Catholic bishops in the Philippines are urging the faithful to pray for rain and lower temperatures after a heatwave forced the government to close tens of thousands of schools. The Indian megacity of Calcutta, in the east of the country, suffered from oppressive heat, reaching 43°C during the hottest April day since 1954.
Even mountainous Nepal has been affected, with the government issuing health warnings in late May and firefighters battling unusually large forest fires.
