Extreme Heat Attacks Asia, Thailand Is More Hot Than Indonesia

Hot weather illustration (Photo: Doc. Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Climate expert and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera said extreme heat waves have hit most areas in Asia, even Southeast Asia over the past week. The high temperature this time is not as usual.

Herrera said the extreme weather was the worst April heat wave in Asian history. Unusual hot temperatures have been reported in a number of Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries in recent days.

According to Herrera, areas exposed to very hot temperatures, including in Luang Prabang, Laos. Laos' capital, Vientiane, also noted that the temperature in his country reached 41.4 Celsius and was recorded as the hottest day in the capital, last week.

"This region recorded the highest reliable temperature in its history of 42.7 Celsius this week," Herrera was quoted as saying on the USA Today website, on Tuesday, April 25.

In Thailand, the government's monitoring station in Tak, northwest of the country noted, temperatures had reached up to 45.4 Celsius which broke the previous record high of 44.6 Celsius reached at Mae Hong Son on April 28, 2016.

However, the record is not included in the official summary of government statistics, which reported temperatures at Tak of 44.6 Celsius.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, temperatures jumped above 40 Celsius last week. The extreme weather was recorded as the hottest day in 58 years in the country, which is at the forefront of the climate crisis.

Herrera also noted that unusual hot weather is driving health warnings in Thailand. Local health department warns of the risk of hot stings, especially for people exercising or working hours outside, such as construction workers and farmers. "There are concerns that high temperatures could continue in Thailand beyond the usual summer months. This heat causes drought and potential crop failure. Hundreds of stations in more than a dozen countries broke records," Herrera said.

Extreme heat was also reported by Kalewa in northwestern Myanmar, which reached 44 Celsius, record for April, and Son La in northwestern Vietnam, which reached 38 Celsius, a record for any month.

In China, local media reported, that record temperatures for April have been observed in many locations. The region includes Chengdu, Zhejiang, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and other areas in the Yangtze River delta region.

Meanwhile, the temperature rose above 30 Celsius in Japan, with Minamata in the Kumamoto prefecture reaching 30.2 Celsius, April's record for the area.

The unusual temperatures for this month are also recorded in Central Asia, including in Kazakhstan, which is 33.6 Celsius recorded in Taraz, record for April, and in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

How Is The Hot Temperature In Indonesia?

In Indonesia, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that some areas in the country will be hit by extreme hot weather. This condition will take place from 23-25 April 2023.

In recent days, the air temperature in some areas has reached 37 degrees Celsius.

Some parts of Indonesia have been hit by very high heat or very high risk of danger with index 8-10 and some areas fall into the extreme category or very extreme risk of danger with an index of more than 11.

The extreme hot area expanded at 10.00 WIB. The heat got worse at 11.00 WIB. The area hit by extreme heat is getting wider.

Extreme hot conditions will still hit parts of Indonesia at 13.00 WIB. This extreme weather will still occur on April 25, 2023.

Extreme hot weather will still hit parts of Indonesia at 08.00 WIB. This condition expanded at 09.00 WIB.

Towards noon, Indonesia's sky conditions are predicted to get hotter. Most parts of Indonesia will be exposed to high heat and extremes at 10.00 WIB-12.00 WIB.

The heat in Indonesia will slightly subside at 14.00 WIB. Although some areas will still be hit by high heat, nothing has touched the extremes.