StraitsTimes-Apr 2
Millions of people across South and South-east Asia sweltered through unusually hot weather on April 25, as the Thai government said at least 30 people have already died from heatstroke in 2024. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted the region this week, prompting thousands of schools across the Philippines to suspend in-person classes. The United Nations said this week that Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023, with floods and storms the chief causes of casualties and economic losses. The city authorities in Bangkok gave an extreme heat warning as the heat index was expected to rise above 52 deg C.
Temperatures in the concrete sprawl of the Thai capital hit 40.1 deg C on April 24 and similar levels were forecast for April 25. The heat index – a measure of what the temperature feels like, taking into account humidity, wind speed and other factors – was at an “extremely dangerous” level in Bangkok, the city’s environment department warned. The authorities in Udon Thani province, in the kingdom’s rural north-east, also warned of blazing temperatures on April 25. The Health Ministry said late on April 24 that 30 people had died from heatstroke between Jan 1 and April 17, compared with 37 in the whole of 2023. Deputy director-general Direk Khampaen of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control told AFP that officials were urging elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions, including obesity, to stay indoors and drink water regularly. Read more at: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/heatstroke-kills-30-in-thailand-this-year-as-kingdom-bakes
