A boy takes bath during a heatwave in Jacobabad, in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan, in this photo taken on May 11, 2022. (Photo by Aamir Qureshi / AFP)
Apr 20 2023
Sweltering under a blistering sun, people across South and Southeast Asia have been taking cover beneath any shelter they can find as they pray for cooling rains with record temperatures hitting the region.
Bangladesh saw its highest temperature for almost 60 years in the past week, while in India at least 13 people died from heatstroke along with two in Thailand, according to local media.
“It’s hotter and hotter every year,” said Mikako Nicholls, shielding herself from the blazing rays with an umbrella near Bangkok’s central Lumpini Park on Wednesday.
Scientists say global warming is exacerbating adverse weather, with a recent report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning that “every increment of global warming will intensify multiple and concurrent hazards.”
Nicholls said Bangkok’s warmer spell was the hottest she had experienced in five years in the capital, and she was trying to stay indoors or in the shade.
Thailand’s Meteorological Department said Wednesday that temperatures hit a record-equalling 44.6 degrees Celsius (112 Fahrenheit) in the western province of Tak on April 15, warning that the baking weather would continue into next week.
Read full news in LiCAS.news.
