"Historic" Heatwave Hits Southeast Asia

Author: Pradhnya Anindya Dewanti
April 10, 2024

A “historic heatwave” is being experienced across southeast Asia. Photo: shutterstock/Lamyai

SEAToday.com, Jakarta - A “historic heatwave” is being experienced across southeast Asia, according to climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, Tuesday (4/2).

Multiple weather reporting platforms have recorded scorching heat temperature across portions of the region. National all-time heat records were smashed in both Vietnam and Laos on Saturday (6/4). The Vietnamese district of Hoi Xuan hit 44.1°C while its neighboring country Laos' Luang Prabang recorded a temperature of 43.5°C for two days in a row.

Another country in the region, the Philippines, has limited its school time in the capital due to the sizzling heat. In Thailand’s waters, temperatures are so high that scientists fear coral could be destroyed.

The scorching weather follows the warnings from the World Meteorological Organization that the region has seen a trend of rising temperature. It attributed the weather to human-induced climate change, as well as the El Niño phenomenon.