“climatic confinements” are increasing to protect themselves from extreme heat

From the Philippines to Thailand via India, for a month Asia has been hit by extreme temperatures, to the point that several countries are triggering “climate confinements”. The heat will continue over the coming weeks.

In Thailand, the official recommendation fell on Sunday May 5: due to the severe heat expected over the next two weeks, schools must “privilege“distance learning. No need to bring students in. Just a few days ago, the temperature felt exceeded 50°C.

An identical situation in the Philippines and also in Bangladesh, one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis. For the second year in a row, the Bangladeshi government automatically closed schools last week. Some 33 million children remained at home, most without the option of distance learning.

In Hong Kong, companies are asking their employees to favor teleworking. And to limit the number of deaths, most countries have, at one time or another in recent weeks, advised the population to stay at home due to a heat index deemed “extremely dangerous“.

The concept of “climate confinement” and non-working days

The concept of “climate confinement” along the lines of what the planet experienced during COVID-19 does not yet officially exist. But it is in fact necessary, while Asia is experiencing the longest and most intense heat wave in its history, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Latin America experienced the same thing. Ecuador and Colombia in particular have been breathing despite everything since this weekend, thanks to a “rain stimulation” program consisting of releasing silver iodide molecules into the clouds. Precipitation fell in abundance.

The Ecuadorian government was able to restore power, which had been cut for up to 13 hours a day, and Bogota was able to end rationing of drinking water. But in Colombia, to slow down economic activity and reduce water and electricity consumption, April 19 was declared a non-working day in the public sector.

In Iran, first climate confinement in 2023

This is not the first time that countries have shut down due to heat. In June 2023, the Tehran regime modifies the working hours of civil servants to allow them to start their day earlier and save energy. At the beginning of August, faced with temperatures sometimes exceeding 50°C, it became the first country to apply this concept of climate confinement… by imposing two public holidays in a row.

Schools, administrations, banks everything had closed and the 85 million inhabitants encouraged to stay at home between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Unofficially, the regime was also trying to hide the fact that the electricity shortage was linked to heat as much as to the failure of energy infrastructure.

It is also in countries that do not have the means to adapt to global warming that this type of constraint risks becoming the norm in the years to come.