EA politician can feel honored when hundreds of thousands of people take part in a ceremony under his patronage, despite the high temperatures. But the event a week ago near the financial metropolis of Mumbai with the Indian Minister of the Interior, Amit Shah, ended in disaster.
In the end, at least 13 people had died as a result of the extreme heat. Several dozen people had been taken to hospitals. At hot midday, they had spent hours in the blazing sun and at temperatures of up to 38 degrees without sufficient drinking water.
As in Mumbai, other regions of Asia are currently being hit by a heat wave. April and May tend to be the hottest months there, before the annual monsoon brings a cool down. Temperatures of more than 40 degrees were again measured in many places this weekend. The temperature records are falling in rows. In Thailand, a new national high of 45.4 degrees was recorded in Tak province on April 15, as well as 42.9 degrees in Xayaburi in Laos.
Maximum values at more than 100 weather stations
In China, local maximum values were reached at more than 100 weather stations. In Indian Prayagraj the thermometer had climbed to 44.6 degrees. The weather historian Maximiliano Herrera wrote on Twitter of the “worst April heat wave in Asian history”.
The heat is expected to continue for a few more weeks. In Bangladesh, people prayed for rain. There, millions of people experienced power cuts just as the majority Muslim country was preparing for the celebrations to break the fast at the end of Ramadan.
Irrigation pumps and the increased busyness due to the holidays led to shortages in the electricity supply. The port city of Chittagong and the textile and pharmaceutical location Maimansingh were particularly hard hit. The weather authorities warn that the west of the country in particular should be prepared for hot and humid weather.
India, New Delhi: A rickshaw drives amid thick smoke. The Bhalswa landfill has caught fire from the extreme heat.
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Image: dpa
At the beginning of the week, the capital Dhaka measured 40.6 degrees, its highest temperature in 58 years. Normally the thermometer rises to 30 to 35 degrees and a maximum of 38 degrees. In one place it even reached almost 43 degrees. The heat had led to curious scenes, as reported by the Dhaka Tribune: “Some people use sunlight alone to fry eggs on their balconies. Others are struggling to cross the road that has literally melted in the heat.” The newspaper quoted an emergency services worker as saying: “There is a growing number of patients coming in with dizziness, blurred vision and chest pains. Many of these patients have never had such symptoms.”
Weather phenomenon El Niño could heat up temperatures further
Low-lying Bangladesh is particularly affected by the consequences of climate change. But the country has also lost a lot of forest, wetlands, rivers and lakes, so there is a lack of cooling, the newspaper quoted an expert as saying. Scientists warn that heat waves in South Asia are likely to increase due to global warming.
This could be a particularly hot year if the expected El Niño weather phenomenon returns after the past three years have been dominated by the rainy La Niña phenomenon. “El Niño is typically associated with record-breaking temperatures around the world,” Carlo Buontempo of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service told Reuters.
The world’s hottest twelve months so far in 2016 occurred as a result of a strong El Niño phenomenon. According to experts, the years 2023 and 2024 could be even hotter.
South Asia is particularly affected by these developments. Bangladesh’s big neighbor India had already experienced the hottest February since 1901. Schools remained closed in at least two states out of concern for the health of the children. A year ago, South Asia was also hit by a severe heat wave. At that time, temperatures in India were sometimes more than 49 degrees. For the coming days, however, rain and thunderstorms are announced for some states in southern India. It has also rained in Bangladesh for the first time in weeks.
In Southeast Asia, countries from Myanmar to Vietnam are groaning under the heat. In Thailand it was the first time that a temperature above 45 degrees was measured. On Saturday, the authorities warned people not to step outside at all. In the kingdom, people have also had to live with increased air pollution for weeks. The reason for the bad air is smoke from forest fires and the burning of plant remains by farmers in the north of the country.
According to health officials, 2.4 million people have gone to hospital in Thailand since the beginning of the year as a result of air pollution. The capital Bangkok and the northern city of Chiang Mai were among the cities with the worst air quality in the world.
