Southeast Asia’s severe heatwave is pushing temperatures and power demand to new records, straining grids and prompting traders in the region to bulk up on natural gas cargoes.
More than three dozen districts across Thailand’s 77 provinces have seen record temperatures last month, generally the hottest month of the year, with new highs beating records held as far back as 1958, data from the Thai Meteorological Department showed.
In the Philippines, temperatures reached a record of 38.8oC in the capital, Manila, on Saturday and have since been even higher in other areas of the main Luzon island, national weather forecaster PAGASA said. New warnings were issued yesterday over potential disruption to electricity supplies amid extra demand.
Photo: Reuters
“Our consumption has suddenly increased because it’s very hot,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told reporters on Monday, saying the cooling demand is overloading power systems.
Thailand’s power usage surged to another record of 36,699 megawatts on Monday amid soaring temperatures, data on the state energy regulator’s Web site showed. That was the third time demand hit a new peak in about a week.
State-owned energy company PTT purchased a prompt delivery shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help feed the surging power demand, traders with knowledge of the matter said. PTT is considering buying more LNG, which is used primarily for power generation, the traders said.
PetroVietnam Gas is also looking to procure an LNG shipment late next month to avoid a shortfall, traders said.
In Myanmar, the region’s poorest economy, outages have already worsened in cities including Yangon, with many townships only seeing a few hours of electricity in recent days.
The Thai Meteorological Department advised people to avoid lengthy outdoor activities with maximum temperatures in most regions expected to top 40oC yesterday. The health ministry last week said that heat-related deaths had risen to about 30 nationwide this year.
The northern province of Lampang has seen the highest temperature so far this year at 44.2oC, just shy of the highest temperature ever recorded in Thailand — 44.6oC — last seen in 2016 and last year.
The office of the nation’s Islam spiritual leader prompted followers to pray for rain this weekend, local media reported. Wat Pho, one of the most well-known Buddhist temples, started sprinkling water on its compound to give tourists relief from the weather.
The Philippines’ heat index, which takes into account humidity and measures the temperature felt by individuals, hit a high of 53oC on Sunday, the weather forecaster said, indicating incidents of heat strokes were imminent.
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