More than 100 temperature records last month fell across Vietnam, official data showed, as a deadly heat wave scorches South and Southeast Asia.
Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in the past few weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change would produce more frequent, longer and intense heat waves.
Photo: AFP
Last month, Vietnam endured three waves of high temperatures, National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting data published on Friday showed, with the mercury peaking at 44°C in two towns earlier this week.
The mark is only slightly below the highest temperature ever recorded in Vietnam — 44.2°C on May 7 last year.
In all, 102 weather stations reported record highs last month, as northern and central Vietnam bore the brunt of the heat wave, with temperatures on average 2°C to 4°C higher than during the same period last year.
Seven stations on Tuesday recorded temperatures above 43°C.
The most dramatic sign of the extreme weather hitting Vietnam came in the southern province of Dong Nai, where hundreds of thousands of fish died in a reservoir.
Images showed locals wading and boating through the 300-hectare Song May reservoir, with the water barely visible beneath a blanket of dead fish.
The mass die-off was blamed on water shortages caused by the heat wave and poor management.
The Vietnamese weather agency is predicting more hot weather this month, with temperatures expected to be 1.5°C to 2.5°C higher than in previous years.
While April and May are normally the hottest time of year in Southeast Asia, experts say the El Nino effect is making this year’s heat particularly intense.
Heat records were also broken in Bangladesh and Myanmar last month, while heatstroke has killed at least 30 people in Thailand since the start of the year and high temperatures were partly blamed for a deadly explosion at a Cambodian ammunition dump.
Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines are urging the faithful to pray for rain and lower temperatures, after the heat forced the government to close tens of thousands of schools.
The Indian megacity of Kolkata has sweltered through punishing heat, peaking at 43°C for the city’s hottest single April day since 1954.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS