Dozens killed in record heat wave in Thailand

This article was last updated on May 10, 2024

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Dozens killed in record heat wave in Thailand

A record heat wave in Thailand has so far killed 61 people, the country’s health ministry said. A feeling temperature of over 52 degrees has been reported in some places.

According to the ministry, there have been more deaths due to the heat so far than in all of 2023, when 37 people died due to high temperatures.

The extreme weather has been persisting for weeks. In April, a temperature of 44.2 degrees was measured in the northern province of Lampang. At night the mercury rarely fell below 30 degrees. In Thailand the population is used to high temperatures, but the heat has almost never been so intense for such a long period.

Warnings

The highest temperature ever measured in Thailand is 44.6 degrees, but the perceived temperature, which also takes into account the effects of sun, windless weather and humidity, can be higher. At the beginning of this week the temperature dropped briefly when it rained for the first time in months, but today it was above 40 degrees again in many places.

Thai authorities warn about the heat almost every day and ask people to stay indoors if possible. Many people have died, especially in the northeast of the country, the Ministry of Health reports.

According to experts, the causes of the persistent heat include the climate phenomenon El Niño and global warming, of which in Asia, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). more is noticeable than the global average. Extreme heat has also recently caused problems in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines.