MANILA (AP) — Southeast Asia grappled with a weeklong heat wave Monday, as record temperatures led to school closures in several countries and urgent health warnings across the region .
Millions of students across all public schools in the Philippines were ordered to stay home on Monday after authorities canceled in-person classes for two days. The main advice given to everyone everywhere has been to avoid outdoor activities and drink plenty of water, but young and old people have been asked to be especially careful.
This year, Cambodia is facing the highest temperatures in 170 years, Chan Yutha, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, told The Associated Press on Monday. His agency predicts that temperatures in most parts of the country could reach as high as 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) this week.
Myanmar’s meteorological department said on Monday that seven townships in the central regions of Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing and Bago experienced record temperatures. Last week, several cities in Myanmar made the list of the hottest places in the world.
Chauk township in the Magway region, historically the hottest region in the country, experienced Myanmar’s highest temperature at 48.2 degrees Celsius (118.8 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking the previous record of 47, 4 degrees Celsius (117.3 degrees Fahrenheit) established in 1968.
The Philippines is among the countries worst hit by Southeast Asia’s sweltering weather, where the intense heat of the tropical summer, compounded by humidity, has forced class cancellations in recent weeks and raised fears of water shortages, power outages and damage to agricultural crops.
The Education Ministry has ordered students at more than 47,000 public schools to move to home and online learning due to health risks from record temperatures and a three-day strike that began Monday by drivers who oppose a government program they fear will be cut. street passenger jeepneys.
Large crowds sought relief in air-conditioned shopping malls in Metro Manila, the capital’s congested region of more than 14 million people, where the temperature soared to 38.8 degrees Celsius (101.84 Fahrenheit) on Saturday, surpassing the record set decades ago, according to weather officials. .
In Thailand, temperatures exceeded 44°C (111°F) in parts of the country’s north, while the capital Bangkok and metropolitan areas saw temperatures exceed 40°C (104°F). Forecasts from the Meteorological Department indicate that this year’s summer, which typically lasts from late February to late May, is expected to be 1 to 2 degrees warmer than last year, and precipitation will be below average.
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control said last week that at least 30 people had died of heatstroke so far this year, compared with 37 for all of last year.
Scientists have said the number of heat-related deaths around the world has increased significantly in recent years, along with temperatures, but the trend in Asia this year is unclear so far, partly because of the question of how to classify deaths that appear to be heat-related. related to heat.
At least 34 people have fallen ill due to extreme heat in the Philippines so far this year, six of whom have died. The Health Ministry said it was verifying the exact cause of the deaths.
Bangladeshi media reported that during a five-day period earlier this month, at least 20 people died from heatstroke.
In Cambodia, however, authorities reported there were few or no heat-related deaths. The Khmer Times, an online news platform, quoted the head of the health department in Phnom Penh, the capital, as saying there had been no heat-related deaths or collapses.
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Associated Press writers Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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