Vietnam has reported a record-high temperature, with climate experts warning such extreme weather events would continue.
The country’s scientists have warned that global warming is exacerbating adverse weather, with the region sweltering under a heat wave last month — when neighboring countries also registered record temperatures.
A temperature of 44.1°C was measured in Vietnam on Saturday, the National Centre for Hydro Meteorological Forecasting said, breaking the 2019 record of 43.4°C.
Photo: AFP
Farmer Nguyen Thi Lan said that temperatures in the central city of Danang had been increasingly hot, forcing workers to start earlier than ever.
“We have had to finish before 10am to avoid the heat,” she said.
Forecasters said that temperatures had risen to nearly 40°C, she said.
“But at lunchtime, I think it was much hotter,” she added.
The record temperature was measured indoors at Hoi Xuan station in northern Thanh Hoa Province. It topped the previous high of 43.4°C, recorded in April 2019 in Ha Tinh Province’s Huong Khe District.
“This is a worrying record in the context of climate change and global warming,” climate change expert Nguyen Ngoc Huy said.
“I believe this record will be repeated many times,” he said. “It confirms that extreme climate models are being proven to be true.”
Across the country, weather experts and authorities advised people to remain indoors during the hottest parts of the day.
Danang has asked the country’s ministries of industry and electricity to “cooperate to effectively deal with the heat, possible drought, lack of water,” state media said.
Officials have also told the city’s water supply company to ensure that there are adequate “supplies of water for domestic use.”
At midday on Saturday, Hanoi’s city center was almost empty as many remained indoors to avoid the sun.
Last month, Asian countries sweltered under hot conditions — posting record or near-record temperatures.
The Thai Meteorological Department reported a record-equaling 44.6°C in western Tak Province, while Myanmar media said that a town in the country’s east reported decade-highs of 43.8°C.
While the countries typically endure a hot period before the rainy season, the intensity of the heat has exceeded previous records.
In Bangladesh — long dramatically affected by climate change — the capital, Dhaka, recorded its highest temperature since the 1960s.
At the same time, Indian weather authorities said that parts of the country were experiencing temperatures about three to four degrees above normal.
A recent report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that “every increment of global warming will intensify multiple and concurrent hazards.”
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