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Climate: in Southeast Asia, an unprecedented heatwave amplified by climate change
Climate: in Southeast Asia, an unprecedented heatwave amplified by climate change
(France 2)
In Southeast Asia, extreme heat affects Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand. Update on the situation.
Animals are victims by the thousands of the drought which is hitting Vietnam. For several weeks, the country has been suffocating, with peaks of more than 44°C. During the month of April, more than 100 temperature records were broken. This historic heat wave is now affecting all of Southeast Asia. In Thailand, delivery men on motorbikes travel in traffic jams, sometimes in temperatures of 40°C. The streets of the capital, Bangkok, have become unbreathable. If scorching temperatures are common at this time of year, according to experts, they are accentuated by global warming.
Heat wave amplified by the El Niño phenomenon
In the Philippines, under the burning iron sheets of a Manila shantytown, the heat has added to the misery and makes daily life unbearable for the inhabitants. “My son has seizures with these temperatures”, confides a mother. The unprecedented heat wave is also amplified by the El Niño phenomenon, which is drying out the region. In some areas, rain has not fallen since November.
