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Agence France-Presse

Thailand issued fresh warnings about scorching hot weather on Thursday as the government said heatstroke has already killed at least 30 people this year.
City authorities in Bangkok gave an extreme heat warning as the heat index was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).
Temperatures in the concrete sprawl of the Thai capital hit 40.1 C on Wednesday and similar levels were forecast for Thursday.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted parts of South and Southeast Asia this week, prompting schools across the Philippines to suspend classes and worshippers in Bangladesh to pray for rain.
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.
‘So hot you can’t breathe’: heat index touches 47 degrees in the Philippines
Authorities in Udon Thani province, in the kingdom’s rural northeast, also warned of blazing temperatures on Thursday.
The health ministry said late Wednesday that 30 people had died from heatstroke between January 1 and April 17, compared with 37 in the whole of 2023.
Direk Khampaen, deputy director general of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, said that officials were urging elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions including obesity to stay indoors and drink water regularly.
April is typically the hottest time of the year in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia, but conditions this year have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern.
Last year saw record levels of heat stress across the globe, with the United Nations weather and climate agency saying Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.


The kingdom has sweltered through a heatwave this week, with a temperature of 44.2 C recorded in the northern province of Lampang on Monday – just shy of the all-time national record of 44.6 C hit last year.
Across the border in Myanmar, the temperature reached a blazing 45.9 C on Wednesday, with more of the same expected on Thursday.
The chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup has led to rolling power blackouts in much of the country, hampering people’s ability to keep cool with fans and air-conditioning.


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Thailand

Hot weather kills 30 in Thailand as heat index hits ‘extremely dangerous’ level

Tourists shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas outside Wat Pho Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: AFP

Japan feels the heat as temperatures set to soar again this summer

Women use portable fans to cool off while walking around Tokyo last summer. Photo: AFP

A woman in Tokyo twirls under a misting spot to cool off in July last year as temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius. Photo: AP 

Shoppers examine seafood at a stall in Tokyo last year. Rising sea temperatures could have a knock-on effect on fish prices in Japan, climate experts warn. Photo: EPA-EFE

As India heads to polls amid 45-degree heat, fears mount over voters’ safety

Women cover their faces to protect themselves from the heat as they arrive at a polling station in Rajasthan on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Women queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Imphal, northeastern India’s Manipur state, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

People rest under the shade of a tree to avoid the heat outside a polling station in Tamil Nadu in southern India on Friday. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The heat index in Bangkok was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius as officials urged elderly people to stay indoors
A wave of sweltering weather has blasted parts of the region, prompting schools in the Philippines to suspend classes


The heat index in Bangkok was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius as officials urged elderly people to stay indoors.


Extreme weather

Weather

Bangkok

Hot weather kills 30 in Thailand as heat index hits ‘extremely dangerous’ level

The heat index in Bangkok was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius as officials urged elderly people to stay indoors A wave of sweltering weather has blasted parts of the region, prompting schools in the Philippines to suspend classes

The heat index in Bangkok was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius as officials urged elderly people to stay indoors

A wave of sweltering weather has blasted parts of the region, prompting schools in the Philippines to suspend classes