🔥🔥🔥 It’s getting hot in here 🔥🔥🔥

A “monster Asian heat wave like none before”

Hello friends!

A few weeks back, Darathtey Din of Campuccino posted about the heat in Phnom Penh — 37 degrees but ‘feels like’ 47 degrees. Hideous. 

I think the Substack vs Twitter war is still a go? Sorry, Dara!

The Cambodian capital has hovered around the same temperature since Dara’s post a fortnight ago. And everywhere else in the region is catching up. Thailand’s election campaign is taking place under oppressive heat while millions of Muslims across maritime Southeast Asia sweltered at Eid celebrations this weekend.

We don’t touch on China or India in this newsletter but reports from there (and elsewhere in South Asia!) are very scary. 

When will it end? Get ready for a hot slog, experts warn. 

Stay safe and hydrated out there!
Erin Cook

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 The whole region is burning up

An entirely unfunny version of the ‘this is fine’ meme

Parts of both Laos and Thailand last week reported their hottest-ever reliable temperatures at 45.3 degrees in Tak, a northern province in Thailand, and 42.9 degrees in Luang Prabang. But it’s not just Mekong states suffering. Governments from India to the Philippines down to Indonesia have issued warnings of the “monster Asian heat wave like none before,” as climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera put it, per USA Today. 

“The heat was caused by a building, large ridge of high pressure that reached from the Bay of Bengal to the Philippine Sea,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jason Nicholls told the portal. It is also linked to both natural and manmade climate change patterns — sure it’s a little El Nino, but this is what increasing temperatures will look like. 

“The most recent report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made clear that "every increment" of additional warming will worsen climate change effects, including heat waves,” Axios wrote in their update last week. 

For the troubled Mekong River, this could prove disastrous: “Temperatures are routinely exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, stoking fears that the heavy rains last year – which prompted the Mekong River Commission to declare a four-year drought over – were just a short respite,” writes Luke Hunt for the Diplomat.

🇹🇭 Thailand

April and May are usually Thailand’s hottest months, but these temps are a real test. Songkran celebrations were fairly muted in some areas earlier in the month, particularly Tak province, as authorities warned of potential heat stroke and other related illnesses. 

Things aren’t any better in the capital. “Sometimes, I take refuge in the 7-11 convenience store... to escape the heat,” Bangkok food vendor Amporn Supasert told Reuters. They’re not alone. Electricity usage has been off the charts with the country blasting AC for weeks. 

Weather watchers expect rain will dampen the mercury for the rest of the week before moving back up to 35 degrees, where it’s expected to stay into May. 

🇵🇭 Philippines

Schools in the Philippines have been reminded they can call off in-person classes for online learning to keep students and staff out of the heat if needed. It’s part of a larger conversation between lawmakers, teacher associations and others debating a return to a previous school-year that kept kids at home for April and May — typically the hottest months on the calendar. This is interesting, particularly given everything we know about the increased likelihood of heatwaves and hotter temperatures. One to watch! 

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration issued extreme heat warnings last week to a string of areas after recording horrible heat up to 48 degrees in Agusan del Norte’s Butuan City, as per the Philippines Star. An interesting complementary piece here from CNN Philippines explains what the heat index actually measures and how. 

🇰🇭 Cambodia

Cambodia’s Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology yesterday warned it expected the high temps to continue all the way through to August. The wet season should hit Cambodia in the second week of next month, which is later than usual, and the ministry expects much less rainfall than usual and the Khmer Times has flagged a possible continued dry spell until mid-year. 

🇻🇳 Vietnam

A reprieve from the heat in Vietnam already? That’s according to a report published by VN Express over the weekend. A quick Google Tuesday afternoon Jakarta time showed Hanoi at the almost-cardigan weather of 19 degrees but Saigon at 37 degrees. Da Nang is splitting the difference at 29 degrees. Which doesn’t tell us much since that’s quite typical, really.  

🇲🇾 Malaysia

The Sabah Health Department referred to the central government’s own definition of a heatwave — three consecutive days above 37 degrees — when urging residents to hydrate and take it easy. Kota Kinabalu won’t get there this week according to forecasts, which is a relief! Sarawak isn’t taking any chances either this dry season. 

🇮🇩 Indonesia

It’s hot in Indonesia, for sure. But it’s not a technical heatwave, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said today as per Tempo. The peak temperature recorded in these last few weeks was 37.2 degrees in Ciputat, Tangerang, last week. What’s happening across Asia is scary, but is not expected to be replicated in Indonesia with average temperatures falling already, BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati said.